A Christmas Tradition

1 Corinthians 11:17-32

 

In 1983, the movie “A Christmas Story” was released. Today it has become somewhat of a classic as it is shown on Christmas Eve for twenty-four consecutive hours on cable TV. In the movie, the Christmas dinner is consumed by some neighborhood dogs. As a result, the family goes to a Chinese restaurant where the restaurant staff humorously sings, “Deck the Halls”.

 

Quite a few years ago, following our churches Christmas Eve service, my family and I were hungry. After driving around for a while (no smart phones then), we discovered that the only restaurant that was open was Chinese. So, ever since then, we have eaten out at a Chinese restaurant on Christmas Eve. A tradition was born.

 

There are many traditions within the Christian church. In today’s passage, Paul addresses the abuse of one of those – the Lord’s Supper. Apparently the church at Corinth was following the tradition, but it had become divisive. Those believers who were better off, ate and drank well. While those who were poor, ate little.

 

Human nature tends to do this – turn something good into something bad. Human nature also tends to lose sight of the purpose of traditions. A tradition can easily become a ritual that at best, is without significance, and at worst, without impact on our lives. Consider the Lord’s Supper.

 

Because of Pharaoh’s hard heart, God was about to inflict a plague that would kill all of the first born of Egypt. In order to protect His chosen people, the blood of a pure sacrificial lamb would be spread over their doors. Then the plague would “pass over” that household. Imagine being one of those protected families as they ate their Passover meal, and heard the screams of their neighbors.

 

Fast forward to the Last Supper. Jesus is sitting at the table with his disciples. They have shared the Passover meal together. He then shares the bread and wine instructing them to remember him by repeating this in the future. Some of the same elements of the first Passover meal were present, only this time Jesus was the pure lamb that was to be sacrificed. His blood would protect them.

 

Today, remembering the Lord’s Supper tends to be very sterile. We pass the plate and partake of a small wafer or piece of bread, and drink grape juice while we sit in our pew thinking about the pot roast in the oven. There are no agonizing screams from our neighbors. There is no impending crucifixion. There is no shed blood.

 

It can be easy for the Lord’s Supper to become a tradition without impact. But Paul is calling us, through his letter to the Corinthians, to be introspective – to look inside ourselves; to evaluate our lives; to objectively observe not only our behavior, but our attitudes and motivations; and finally, to recognize that it was because of our sin that Jesus’ blood was shed. His blood saves us from ourselves not from a plague.

 

Going to a Chinese restaurant on Christmas Eve may eventually lose its significance as a family tradition. But prayerfully, remembering why Jesus went to the cross and what he did there for me, won’t.