For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes again.
I Corinthians 11:26
When Paul spoke these words to the people of Corinth less than twenty years after the crucifixion of Christ, he was addressing a very cosmopolitan audience. Corinth was the most prosperous city in Greece, a shipping and commerce center within the Roman Empire, and a virtual melting pot of races and religions. Through this mixing of cultures and religious traditions arose conflicting, and perhaps misguided, ways of observing religious ritual among the early Christians.
During Paul’s time in Corinth he sought to clarify the gospel for his followers and develop uniform practices within the church. Here he is specifically speaking of conduct and order within the Passover service, and in the preceding passages, Paul reiterates Jesus’ words at the last supper. He asserts that the eating and drinking of the bread and wine serve to remind us every Passover of our Savior’s death.
Clearly this is a mandate to remember not only that He died, but also how and why He suffered and died. Paul’s words still resonate with us two centuries later, for in many ways Corinth resembled our own society. It is only by tuning out distracting societal influences and re-focusing our life and worship that we are truly able to understand and appreciate the greatest sacrifice of all. Today, as we observe Maundy Thursday, we recall Christ’s words, actions, and unending love. It is through this remembrance that we are able to embrace the grief of His passion, and understand personally the depths of His sacrifice for us.
Tricia Sanborn Hurlbutt
