"The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid? ...Though an army encamp against me, my heart shall not fear." Psalm 27 is once again the morning psalm in today's readings. But to me its words take on more profound meaning when I consider Jesus celebrating a final Passover with friends, knowing what the next day would bring.
Today many of us will in some way reenact that "Last Supper." And as we do, I am drawn to today's epistle reading from First Corinthians. Paul is speaking of the Lord's Supper, the only time he mentions it in a letter. He has been prompted to discuss the meal because of abuses of it at Corinth. The wealthy folks who could come early were sitting down to eat without waiting for the poorer members. They were enjoying their food and wine, often to the point of there being none left to share when the poor finally arrived. In this context Paul writes, "For all who eat and drink without discerning the body, eat and drink judgment against themselves."
Now it is easy to see how these words can be read to speak of a mystical presence in the meal, of discerning the body of Christ in the elements. But read in the larger context of Paul's instructions to the Corinthians, the body mentioned here is clearly the body of Christ that is the Church.
As we gather for Maundy Thursday services this evening, I think it is all too easy for American Christians to think about these events mostly from a personal perspective: Christ dying for me, the Spirit giving me strength to follow Jesus and not be afraid, etc. But I hope to sense the body that Paul calls me to discern. May tonight's service join me, and you, to the great story of God's salvation, and to all those who are part of it.
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Thanks for the reminder that it's a lot less about me personally and a lot more about the body, the community, Christ's church...And I definitely felt that at yesterday's Seder meal.
ReplyDeleteOn a related note, maybe, I just finished reading a book called "Strangers to Ourselves: Discovering the Adaptive Unconscious." The author, Timothy Wilson, explores how well we can really know ourselves through introspection. He suggests that there may be times when we can learn more about who we are if we're willing to look outside of ourselves, trying to honestly assess how the things we say and do are perceived and how others react to us. Strike up another one for showing up and participating in what God is already doing, instead of investing a lot of time trying to "understand myself" first. Though I think introspection is very important, I know for me the scales too often weigh more heavily on the "looking inside" side then the "putting myself aside and taking action" side...