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 o examine himself before he eats of the bread and drinks of the cup. –I Corinthians 11:27-28
We rub our souls raw
With the sackcloth of remembered sin
And toss the ashes of burned
Memories into the air
Where they mat in our hair
And crust our eyelids
(How lovely that fountain
Where the sparkling water
Washes away
Even the remembrance of things passed
Transforming them into
Things forgiven)
(c) 2000 Latayne C. Scott
In spite of all the “feel good” philosophies that recent church growth experts have said are necessary for people to benefit from worship, the basic “needs” of a congregation remain unchanged. Worship has two functions: to glorify God, and to allow men, women and children to participate in that glorification. Participation means that a distinction must be made between the holy and the common; the heavenly and the earthly. Part of that involves our recognition that we are not the holy and the heavenly. A proper deference to a superior Being is not the mere belittling of self, but rather an acknowledgment that our sin both separates us from Him and provides the impetus for Him to reach toward us.
Being a Christian author means being a proxy - for the benefit of another and…
View Comments
Impressive, elegant web site Latayne. My aging eyes find the dark format hard to read, the red print especially. However I read through all the entries in the spirit of one who is unable to resist print, having read the Wheaties boxes at the breakfast table as a child.
Yes, the human dilemma of concentration at the Lord's Supper time. Always takes discipline unless one is still in the fresh intoxication stage of in love with the whole Jesus. A lively imagination helps as well as meditation tactics. To recall odors, sounds, agony of lonely betrayal and possible human pain along with the words from He who was Word -all these bundle up within me. Lateral Communion as I touch that home made bread and wonder at the life of the one who made it. The fruit of the vine, ours carefully non fermented, someone planted, watered, plucked, pressed and bottled for this moment. Jesus who makes all wine from water today as surely as He did on the miracle day at the wedding feast. Remembering, remembering, remembering flows up from past encounters and above all felt Presence, A glorious way of remembering that can be done almost anywhere with another believer. Sublime available simplicity. Participation requiring only open self examination.
Thank you so much, dear sister Joyce, for your comments. I see in them the richness that comes from surrendering oneself to the implications of the symbols we have before us each week. No wonder Paul warned us about the import of discernment.