Swhw Bible Reading Plan: AprilSample

Top Takeaway from Malinda Fuller:

Communion. The Eucharist. The Lord's Supper.

No doubt, if you've attended church for a long time, you've experienced communion in some form. There are many different beliefs on how to receive the elements and what taking them means, but most people can agree that it's something that Jesus not only wanted us to remember but also to participate in.

Paul has much to say about how little the church in Corinth was getting right--they were combining the communal meal (the "love feast") with the Lord's Supper. Some church members brought large amounts of food and hoarded it instead of sharing it with those in the community who had less. 

It actually sounded a bit out of control since some Christians ended up getting drunk, while others were left hungry! In short, Paul told them, "If you're going to carry on this way, do it at home because you're missing the point of the Lord's Supper."

Then, he reminds them, "Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, and when He had given thanks, he broke it, and said, "This is my body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me." In the same way, also He took the cup, after supper, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me." For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes" 1 Corinthians 11:23-26.

What did Jesus do first? He gave thanks.

That was Jesus' process. He gave thanks, broke bread, and passed it around. It is how we read the miracles of the loaves and fish. In the Gospel accounts of the night Jesus was arrested, when it describes the Passover meal that Jesus shared with His disciples, the method is the same: thanksgiving and sharing always bookended the breaking of bread.

It wasn't just that the Corinthians were selfishly over-consuming. They weren't getting any part of the process correct. Because if they'd started from a place of thanksgiving, how could they continue in their selfishness after noting the abundance? How can you thank God who provides so well for you, and then let others at your table leave hungry? You can't. 

It's hard to share with other people without being grateful, without a little humility. It's easy to give away what you have when you realize someone else provided for you. And this was Jesus' posture, every time. He was thankful.

On the night He was betrayed, Jesus gave thanks.

Moments before the Judas kiss, Jesus gave thanks.

Hours before He would be deserted and betrayed, Jesus gave thanks.

Just before His closest companions would deny Him, Jesus gave thanks.

Days before He would bleed and be ripped open and hang on a cross, Jesus gave thanks. 

In the hours before He surrendered His will to the Father in the garden, Jesus gave thanks. 

Jesus models what Paul would later write to the church in Thessalonica when he says, "give thanks in all circumstances" (1 Thessalonians 5:18). 

If there were ever a moment for Jesus to not be thankful, this would have been it. He could have complained, "you're all about to leave me in my greatest hour! I'm about to be left dreadfully alone. You don't even know the agony that I'm about to endure." But these words never crossed His lips. He showed us what it looks like to be humble, to trust the Father, and to be grateful.

Jesus gave thanks. Then, He broke the bread and shared it with others.

And this is how we are to treat the holy moment of communion--with thanksgiving on our lips and gratitude in our hearts.

Father, thank You for being my Provider, for giving me more than enough. Please help me to be thankful in every circumstance. Jesus, thank You for Your humility, Your act of surrender, courage, and love. Thank You for giving us communion as a way to remember the beautiful gift You gave us.  Amen.