Who is Invited to Supper?

1 Corinthians 11:23-29

For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord 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 he also 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.

Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty concerning the body and blood of the Lord. Let a person examine himself, then, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment on himself.

As a child, I remember playing outside with my friends in the evening, having so much fun, and then we’d hear a familiar sound. One by one, front doors would open and mothers would come out to the front step and call their children in to eat. It was understood in our neighborhood that when the neighbor’s mother called, the neighbor child went home. We each went to our own homes to eat. Unless there had been specific arrangements made beforehand, we were not invited to eat at our friends’ houses.

There have been many questions over the year as to who is invited to the Lord’s Supper. In some denominations, if you were not baptized in their church, you are not invited. Generally, churches require someone to be a Christian to participate. 

John Wesley, the founder of Methodism, got into trouble over who was invited to Communion. When he went to Georgia, in America, on a mission trip, he began a relationship with a woman named Sophy Hopkey. She suddenly married someone else, and Wesley denied her Communion! The issue grew, and it led to John Wesley slipping out of the colony and returning to England, humbled. 

So who is invited? 

The United Methodist Communion liturgy begins this way: Christ our Lord invites to his table all who love him, who earnestly repent of their sin and seek to live in peace with one another.

If anyone who falls into this category is invited, we must come in a worthy manner. For we see from scripture that anyone who eats the bread or drinks the cup in an unworthy manner is guilty of Jesus Christ’s crucifixion. Who then is worthy? John Wesley required his Methodists to present a ticket in order to partake of Communion. This ticket was given at their class meeting, their small group meeting. If you didn’t attend small group, you didn’t get Communion. His rationale: he could tell if someone was intentionally positioning themselves to grow in Christ by their willingness to participate in a small group. These groups met weekly to confess their sins to one another and to pray for one another, just as James 5 commands. 

The church in Corinth was facing an issue where people were treating the Lord’s Supper as a common meal, and not even doing that very well. Some people were coming and eating their fill, meaning if you were later in line, you might not get any. In those days, the cup was always wine - unfermented grape juice was not available yet - and some people were getting drunk! There was no reverence or order to the Lord’s Supper, and Paul says this is wrong. When you take the Lord’s Supper in this way, it is a mockery of Christ, whose body was broken and blood shed for all, not just for a few.

So we examine ourselves and confess our sins, and when we do so, Christ is gracious and forgives us. While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. That proves God’s love for us.

God’s love for us was demonstrated by a specific act in the past, but it continues today, and will culminate in the future. Whenever we eat this bread and drink this cup, we proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes. This action is a look back to our past, what Jesus did for us. We are reminded of the importance of this historical action. Jesus died on the cross, once and for all. But this passage subtly reminds us that Communion also compels us to look forward. We proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes. We are looking forward to the time when Jesus will return. This is a certainty, not just a hope. Jesus is coming back. 

How does this effect our taking of Communion? The history reminds us of the great sacrifice Jesus made for us. The future compels us to positive action. We know that Jesus saved us, and we evaluate ourselves and confess our sins, knowing what Jesus saved us from. But we also strive forward toward holiness and Christian perfection, toward which Christ calls us. And we can be confident of this, that he who began this good work in us will be faithful to carry it on to completion until Jesus returns.