At the Table | Sacred Meals Require Sacred Behavior

20 So when you get together in one place, it isn’t to eat the Lord’s meal. 21 Each of you goes ahead and eats a private meal. One person goes hungry while another is drunk. 22 Don’t you have houses to eat and drink in? Or do you look down on God’s churches and humiliate those who have nothing? What can I say to you? Will I praise you? No, I don’t praise you in this.

1 Corinthians 11:20-22 (Common English Bible)

There's an unspoken understanding about how we behave in different settings. You act differently at a funeral than at a birthday party. You use different manners at a fine restaurant than at a backyard barbecue. You speak differently in a job interview than you do hanging out with friends. Context matters.

The Corinthians had forgotten this basic principle when it came to communion. They were treating the Lord's Supper like any other meal, complete with social divisions, overeating, and even drunkenness. So Paul essentially tells them, "If you want to party, do it at home. This is supposed to be something different."

Sacred meals require sacred behavior. When we come to the communion table, we're not just having lunch with friends. We're participating in a meal that connects us to Jesus' last supper with his disciples, to his sacrifice on the cross, and to his promise to return. That requires a different kind of behavior from us.

What does sacred behavior look like at the communion table? It means coming with humility, recognizing that we're all equally in need of God's grace. It means treating everyone around the table as beloved children of God, regardless of their social status, income level, or background. It means examining our hearts and confessing our need for forgiveness.

But here's where it gets challenging: sacred behavior at communion should shape our behavior everywhere else too. If we truly encounter Jesus around the communion table, if we're really transformed by remembering his sacrifice, then we can't go back to treating people poorly the rest of the week.

The way we behave at this table should transform the way we behave at every other table in our lives. The patience we find with difficult people during communion should extend to difficult people at work. The forgiveness we experience at God's table should make us more forgiving at our own dinner tables.

Personal Application: How does your behavior during communion compare to your behavior the rest of the week? Are there ways that encountering Jesus at his table should change how you treat people at your table?

Prayer: God, help us bring sacred hearts to your sacred table. Don't let us compartmentalize our faith, acting holy during communion but returning to selfishness afterwards. Transform us through every encounter with you, and let that transformation spill over into every area of our lives. Amen.