1. Distorted form of Communion in Corinth

After the successful series of lectures from John’s letters, we now revert back to the normal program in accordance with the church calendar. Today’s given verses are from, 1 Corinthians 11: 23-29.

Through the writings of his letter, addressed to the Corinthians, Paul tried to rectify the way with which they observed their worship service. Concerning Holy Communion, there are different views and opinions about the establishment and observance of this commemoration in the early church.

One is the passage from Luke 22:19-20, which describes the Last Supper shared between Jesus and the Apostles: “And he took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way, after the supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you.” Jesus asked the disciples to eat the broken bread “in remembrance of me.” He wanted them to remember His sacrifice, the basis for forgiveness of sins, and also His friendship that they could continue to enjoy through the work of the Holy Spirit.

And Paul draws from the same source of that record, “For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: The Lord Jesus, on the night 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, after supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me” (1 Corinthians 11:23-25).

As you can see the phrases in the letter are almost similar to those of Luke. At the last supper, the disciples became the model of Holy Communion, a new covenant-making event, which called upon his disciples to fully observe the new covenant sacrifice provided by Jesus through His own death.

Many Christians think the origin of Communion is through sharing of food among many people, a sort of fellowship meal, which we sometimes have after the service. Perhaps this is based on the episode that Jesus feeds numerous people with very small amounts of food (Mark 6:30-44). Actually, Communion seems to be observing a combination of the two in the early church. Believers came to the church with their own food and ate them together after the worship service. But Paul’s letter reveals that the Corinthians practiced this observance in an outrageous manner at that time.

In that era, Corinth was a major cosmopolitan city, a seaport and large trade centre. People who belonged to different social statuses were all mixed together. So, financially, their living conditions were very diverse. The worship service, including Communion, might be observed in the evening because there were many members who worked during the day. Communion could also have been shared after the worship service in the homes of rich people, because many dedicated places, such as church buildings, were non-existant.

However the rich Corinthians assembled early in the evening, eating bread and drinking wine brought by themselves, before the poor people arrived. Poor and hungry believers were often left without food or wine, which prevented them from observing the commemoration of the Lord’s supper. When Paul heard about the situation he writes with anger, “When you come together, it is not the Lord’s Supper you eat, for as you eat, each of you goes ahead without waiting for anybody else. One remains hungry, another gets drunk” (1 Corinthians 11:20-21).

He chastises those who dare to eat the food, and drink the wine remorselessly, without inviting the poor believers. He condemns such conduct which did not deserve to bear the name of Communion. In Greek language the church is, “ekklēsia”, which means more exactly, “assemble” or call together. The church is the place where believers call upon God’s name. They are called there to get together and share bread and wine dedicated to God. The act of sharing bread means sharing Christ’s body, and the drinking of wine is sharing Christ’s blood, all of which unites the people in faith. Nonetheless, in the church at Corinth, the rich simply organised parties for their own selfish purposes, and excluded the poor from the table.

2. Conflicts concerning Holy Communion

The selected passage from the letter reveals disagreements between several factions in the Corinthian church, which caused undesirable conflicts concerning Communion. For example, the rich prevented the poor from sharing meals. They could have misunderstood the fundamental role of the church and the significance of Communion. So Paul says, “Therefore, whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord. A man ought to examine himself before he eats of the bread and drinks of the cup” (1 Corinthians 11:27-29).

Communion, being an act of faith, commemorating Christ’s death on the cross for our sins, is completely different from sharing a simple meal. Paul emphasizes that if we eat and drink without giving thanks to God, we are not practising Jesus’ teaching. Even today, disagreements have occurred within the United Church of Christ in Japan, concerning those who are considered qualified to receive Communion. Some member-churches, from previous times, allowed any attendant of the service to share Communion, even non-baptized people.

The attitude of others is that Communion should be received exclusively by baptized Christians. In the latter part of the scripture verse from which we read today, Paul gives the expression, “A man ought to examine himself.” The committee concluded through repeated discussion that the expression signifies, ‘a man ought to examine himself, whether he is baptized or not. So, the consequence was that, Pastors who have allowed non-baptized people to share the Communion were expelled from the United Church.

Indeed, by considering the context, their way of interpretation is not convincing. Paul’s letter was written under circumstances in the Corinthian church where Communion was not shared correctly between believers. It was monopolized by the rich. So much so, Paul asked those rich people to be conscious of their attitude which betrays the faith, moreover, condemning them of the practise.

And we of the Japan Baptist Convention churches, have similar disagreements about Communion. So I want to extend today’s reflection concerning Communion, to focus on the question: “whether the church should take any decisions, by rejecting opinions advocated by opposing members.”

3. Church Building Projects

I chose 1 Corinthians 10:23-24 as today’s invocation verses: “Everything is permissible—but not everything is beneficial. Everything is permissible—but not everything is constructive. Nobody should seek his own good, but the good of others.”

As the church is an assembly of humans there should be different opinions and ways of thinking. It is normal because each believer has their own cultural base, social state, or religious background. However, differences should not be sources of conflicts, at least within the church. That should be the nature of the church. Whereas in the secular world the majority normally makes decisions. The greater the numbers of supporters cannot necessarily represent righteousness and faith.

Besides, if we decide everything only by respecting the democratic rules, the minority will not feel at ease. The church must be a place where the minority should also feel comfortable, because Jesus died for their sake too. Paul said to Christians in Corinth, “Everything is permissible but not everything is constructive.” He must mean that they should take a direction which leads the church into spiritual unity, not in an upsetting and destructive way.

What we should seek through prayer is to realize God’s will, not our own ideals. If long discussion does not lead to a unanimous agreement, we should consider it to be a God’s will, and have the courage to postpone the ultimate decision until further notice.

With the construction of church buildings in Japan, conflicts and harsh disagreements often occur. Naturally such projects needs substantial funds, which might demand considerable contributions from all members of the church. Depending upon the income and wealth of the members, that could be a burden for some.

In many cases, those who originally opposed the construction of a new church building, leave the fellowship upon its completion. Once the minority become unhappy within God’s place of worship, it is no longer Christ’s church. We must continue discussions until all members willingly support the project. If we cannot arrive at a mutual agreement, the project should be changed or amended. This Shinozaki church was built 35 years ago. The building needs refurbishing, with various upgrades of materials, and additions, which will ultimately help to reinforce and protect the building against earthquakes.

Therefore we organized this year, a church reconstruction committee, and the first meeting was held last week. On that occasion we all agreed that the priority is to avoid any risks which might destabilize the spiritual unity of the church. If certain matters begin to provoke disagreements, we would prefer to adjourn the project.

In the secular world we will find disputes which breed hatred, the work place, schools, and even in the home. It is because we, simple humans, have a tendency to reject others who will not agree with our opinions and ways of thinking. But Jesus says, “Not so with you.” (Matthew 20:26)

While the Christian church has been under oppression from of Jewish authorities, it became itself the oppressor of Jewish people when it obtained the status of an exclusive official religion in the Roman empire. And even today we have not changed. In USA there are churches which refuse the worship service conjoining whites and blacks. In Japanese churches we find prejudicial thinking with regard to foreign believers. But Jesus says, “Not so with you.” And we, by listening to His words continuously, should be changed, and empowered to make this church grow and mature with such a hope.

From 1876 to 1877, Professor William Smith Clark,* spent eight months in Japan, at the Sapporo Agricultural College (now Hokkaido University). His famous quote “Boys, be ambitious” is well known, but unfortunately, only in an abridged form. The original one is, “Boys, be ambitious in Christ.” So now you understood what Dr. Clark really wanted to say. Our ambition is to serve the world by spreading the Good News of the Gospels. Once the church spirit is consolidated by standing firm with the same ambition, conflicts and disagreements will cease. It is that very ambition that we must seek.
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reference:
* http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Smith_Clark