Eating and Drinking

"And when he had given thanks, he brake it, and said, Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me. After the same manner also, he took the cup, when he had supped, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood: this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me. For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord's death till he come. Wherefore, whosoever shall eat this bread, and drink this cup of the Lord unworthily shall be guilty of the body and the blood of the Lord. But let every man examine himself and so let him eat of THAT BREAD and drink of THAT CUP. For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily eateth and drinketh damnation to himself not discerning the Lord's body."

1 Cor. 11:24-29

Paul was reminding them in verse 22 that what he was to talk about - the Lord's Supper, shared with the disciples - wasn't to 'eat' and 'drink' ( to share a regular meal together) He might have been concerned that perhaps they were thinking that the Lord's meal was the same thing as regular meals they shared. He wanted to clarify to them that though eating a regular meal together was important and was the custom of the early church (and should be ours too), this wasn't like that at all. Just Eating together. He also took occasion to remind them that they should be sharing their food with others which it didn't seem they were doing. ((20-22)) If they weren't going to share what they had, then they should eat at home.

Paul wrote because he didn't want them to confuse the purpose and meaning of the supper the Lord shared (the Lord's supper ) with that of a regular meal.

Regular meals are things that are predictable, they happen at the same time, day after day, week after week, month after month, on and on.

The Lord's meal wasn't like that. It was different. It's NOT a ceremony.

"Are we showing forth God's life and death in our lives???"

Consider are we committed entirely to the Lord ? How are we living our life, and showing His life to others - honestly reflecting this is to partake of His bread and is to partake of His blood. This is true communion that Christ wants with us. Just as He stood amongst His disciples long ago, He stands in our midst longing for us to receive the power of the sacrifice that He gave. Whenever we get together with others, we share this communion, we exhort one another onwards in true fellowship with Him and with each other. He wants us to continually experience the power that was in His sacrifice, for us, the power that was in His Blood and in His flesh. We only do this through honest searching and examination of our hearts, life, and relationships with others. It's the only way to experience spiritual life.

Adding anything to it (such as making it a regular weekly or monthly ceremony) is to not really add to it, but to take away from the purpose.

It's not a little cup with wine or a piece of bread, something literal. It's deeply personal and a continual work and empowerment of the Spirit that enables one to partake of His death and life.

It's spiritual, that is what Paul is trying to say.

If we think it's a weekly, a daily meal service or a monthly ceremony, well then we are not considering Christ's true sacrifice by adding (taking away) to it. It meant for us (spiritual life). In fact, making a ceremony in any fashion - will hinder and oppose the spiritual and create confusion, sickness and chastening.