1 Peter 4:17,
17. For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God...
1 Corinthians 11:31-32,
31. For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged.
32. But when we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord, that we should not be condemned with the world.
Today marks the end of Passover week, which began April 8 with Passover proper, followed by the seven-day celebration called the Feast of Unleavened Bread.
Whether or not a Christian keeps these two holidays as they were kept by Israel since the Exodus, or not, usually almost all churches will celebrate a communion in which unleavened bread and either grape juice or wine are served to the congregants.
This year, because of the current situation upon us all, many churches shifted things and had members either go to their respective buildings and pick-up the elements for communion prior to the chosen date, or were trusted to secure their own bread and juice/wine, and they had a live stream, virtual service over the internet and the individual members of each respective assemblies, presumably, ate their portion of the communion at home.
When Paul wrote to the Corinthians regarding eating a communion meal in honor of the Lord's death, he chastised them rather severely for the egregious displays of indifference and irreverence the Corinthians showed for the Lord's Supper. He went so far as to state that anyone who ate the communal bread or drank from the communal cup in an unworthy manner, ate and drank damnation to him or herself (
1 Corinthians 11:29).
What is this unworthy manner Paul wrote of? It is clear from the context that when the meal was planned and prepared, some people were coming to the meeting on an empty stomach (
1 Corinthians 11:22 & 34) or with an intention of drinking enough wine to become intoxicated (
1 Corinthians 11:21).
In this, the issue is, as Paul wrote, not "waiting" for one another (
1 Corinthians 11:21 & especially 33). What was Paul trying to convey? Simply put, in Corinth, whenever a love feast was planned, and the Lord's Supper was going to be a part of that feast, some members were eating up and drinking up the entire meal, partaking of the Lord's Body and Blood, while other members were not present, though they were surely on their way (which is why Paul wrote to "wait" for each other).
Much earlier in 1 Corinthians, Paul wrote how not many of them, according to their calling, were wise, mighty, or noble (
1 Corinthians 1:26), which is to say, they were not of the Roman aristocracy. They held no power or sway in the local polis. In fact, many of them were slaves (See, for example,
1 Corinthians 7:21).
Is it any wonder then, that not all members of the Corinthian assembly could arrive at the same time to partake of the love feast and the Lord's Supper? Some unlearned, lacking in might, low-born slaves were still attending their duties until late in the evening and were not discharged from those duties until after the evening church meetings began. They could not get to each other's homes in time, and so, instead of waiting and allowing these unlearned, lacking in might, low-born slaves to have a chance to also share in the Body and Blood of Christ, to show His death until He returned for them, they were left out of the proceedings. Paul wrote that it was for this reason that many were sick and some had even died, in the Corinthian church (
1 Corinthians 11:30).
Why? Why were some sickly and some had died? And who were these that were often sick, or had passed on? Why, none other than the unlearned, lacking in might, low-born slaves whose lives were already cheap, whose only hope of a decent, hearty meal might be as a believer when the church gathered. Being cut off from this opportunity by those members who decided to not wait for them, is what caused these members to eat and drink damnation to themselves because they were not properly discerning the Lord's Body (
1 Corinthians 11:30).
What is my point, and what does any of this have to do with Passover Week and the Feast of Unleavened Bread?
How many saints, I wonder, are elderly or infirm, or poor, or can't travel? How many don't have an internet connection? Or even if they do, are not tech-savvy enough to figure out how to join an online virtual meeting?
Perhaps the number is small (although small is a relative, and therefore, highly subjective term)? But even if the number is small, I wonder how many of them didn't get a chance, because of the present circumstances, to share in the Body and Blood of the Lord with their brothers and sisters in Christ? How many ate up and drank up the communion bread and juice/wine and didn't think to "wait" as it were, until everyone who possibly could and desired to, had a chance to share in the Lord's Supper?
Might I submit to you that even one is too many? I mean, who wants to eat and drink damnation to themselves? I should think no one. But how many, I fear, did just that, because other members of their assembly never got the chance this week to share in the communion meal?
If this at all is the case, I urge everyone reading this to take this last day of Unleavened Bread, and reach out to those in their congregations who may have been missed, and use this last day, which calls for a holy convocation (
Exodus 12:16), to offer them a chance to partake of the Bread and the Cup, before the holiday is over.
In
1 Corinthians 5:8, Paul encouraged the saints there with the following exhortation:
8. Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness; but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.
Leaving a brother or sister out of the communion meal, even unintentionally, is wrong. Embrace sincerity and truth, and think about who may, because of the present circumstances, missed a chance to "keep the feast" with his or her beloved brothers and sisters in Christ, and find a way to make it happen, for their sakes, and for yours.
Peace and God bless,
Aaron