Wall of Separation

 

I Corinthians 11:23-26

 

     I have never flown first class.  I have always been in the economy class.  I have always been a little jealous of the people in the front of the plane.  I wonder what it is like to sit in a comfortable seat, with some room to move.  I wonder what kind of meal they are getting as I drink my ginger ale and eat my peanuts.  We are all on the same plane but there is a difference in how we are treated.

 

      In the early church when they met for worship they met in homes.  People brought food and they had what they called a love feast before they celebrated Communion.  It was a time when the barriers between class were broken down.  Slaves and free, Jew and Gentile, male and female, rich and pauper were united in the church.   

 

      In Corinth they couldn't even get the love feast right.  They were divided by animosity.  Yes, they did meet together.  Usually when they gathered at a home about ten people could fit in the dining area.  There you would find the most prominent citizens.  Then there was usually an atrium that would hold between thirty to forty people.  When the meal was served the people in the dining room got a first class meal, they got the best food and wine, while the people in the atrium sometimes got nothing at all, possibly a snack.

 

      Paul let them know that the common meal served before Communion should symbolize the unity of the community.  Why, because of the death of Jesus initiated a new covenant. The way they were doing it now suggested that the death of Jesus did nothing to change the conditions of the relationship.  Because of his death there should  no longer be a wall of separation among Christians.  We are responsible to God and to one another. 

 

      Cecil Culverhouse, in a sermon on this passage, suggested that "Until we experience that the walls of separation are indeed broken down in Christ, we have not known the full power of this gift."   One of the walls of separation was between us and God.  God came to us on the night we betrayed Him.  God's grace was expressed in the midst of our sin.  That wall has been broken down by the cross of Jesus.

 

      The other wall is the wall between people.  It might be religious, economic, racial.  In the body of Christ those walls should not exist. As Christians we cannot gather together with some in first class and others in coach.  There should not be a delicious meal for some and a few leftover scraps for others.  When we eat this bread and drink from this cup we are saying that we receive the forgiveness that comes from God in Jesus Christ and we will do our part to help break down the walls that divide us. 

 

      In a few moments we will be praying the Lord's Prayer together.  The words that Jesus taught us to pray are inclusive.  Our Father, our daily bread, forgive us our sins, lead us not into temptation, deliver us from evil.

 

      When we look at the covenants as a whole we are reminded that it is not just about me.  And it is not just about Waverly Road.  And it is not just about the Presbyterian Church USA.  There were people in the Old Testament who clung to the promises of God even when they did not see how they could be fulfilled.  They were looking forward to what was to come. 

 

      The death of Jesus is the link between us and them.  They were straining forward with hope.  They were the first links in the chain of the story of God and God's people.  Now we are the ones who come after the death of Jesus.  And we are called to carry on the story now that the promises have been fulfilled.

 

      When Jesus offers us the bread and the cup he is inviting us to become a part of the story.  He is saying receive and share.  And what are we receiving and sharing.  God's grace.  It is for you and for me and for all who accept it.

 

       "Take, eat, this is my body broken for you.  Do this in remembrance of me."