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For I received from the Lord what I also handed on to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took a loaf of bread, {24} and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, "This is my body that is for you. Do this in remembrance of me." {25} In the same way he took the cup also, after supper, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me." {26} For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes.

[1 Cor 11:23-26 NRSV]

 

Paul¡¯s letters are products of his struggles with particular issues that the early church faced. 1 Corinthians 11, the institution of the Lord¡¯s Supper, reflects the major issue that Paul had to deal with in Corinth. The Corinthian church was divided, being preoccupied with factions, and with competing claims about the gospel. Hence for Paul the most serious work was the role of Christ in the makeup of the community.? Paul raised the challenging question: ¡°Has Christ been divided?¡± (1:13) The Corinthians would have had the Lord¡¯s Supper in accordance with the customs of the day, where the hosts served the gourmet food to their social peers and the less desirable food to the lower ranks. In response to this situation, Paul reminded them of the nature of the Lord¡¯s Supper. It is not another social meal, but the proclamation of the Lord¡¯s death. Therefore Christians must treat it as such.

An Indian Dalit (Untouchable) theologian was invited to be a key speaker at our congregations¡¯ bible studies. The ¡®Untouchable¡¯ friend and I celebrated the Lord¡¯s Supper together. He was deeply moved to see the ¡®white¡¯ congregants take the bread, which were touched and broken by the ¡®Untouchable¡¯. The celebration of the Lord¡¯s Supper in the divided houses of God is a challenge and proclamation of the Lord¡¯s death, who has reconciled all human beings to the Father through the Holy Spirit.

 

Yangrae Son
Minister of the Word
(the Holy Week 2008, from With Love to the World)
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Address : Cnr Concord Rd & Wunda Rd Concord West
Postal address : PO Box 29 Concord West 2138, NSW, Australia
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