Key Bible Passage(s):

I Cor.3:1-9; 5:1-5 & 11-13; 10:14-22; 11:17-34

Tier 1

It is easy to fall into a trap of thinking you have to ‘qualify’ to take communion by being a good enough Christian. Sometimes the sense of our own failure and sinfulness can seem to disqualify us from receiving the Bread and Wine. But the one place repentant sinners need to go is to the Cross. Grace can be counter-intuitive, but we learn to trust it as we gain experience of Christ.

Tier 2

Amongst other things, Communion is a sacrament of our unity with one another in Christ. It doesn’t just symbolise that unity, but engenders it. So what happens when a Church family have behaved in ways that undermine that unity? Paul tackles this question in a way that shows both how seriously God takes our taking Communion, but also what to do when things go wrong.

Tier 3

This sessions finishes with a brief look at the Book of Common Prayer’s summary of how to prepare for a Communion Service, and of what we should expect God to do through our taking Communion.

But it is strange  that it should be neglected by any that do fear God, and desire to save  their souls; And yet nothing is more common. One reason why many neglect it is, they are so much afraid of "eating and drinking unworthily," that they never think how much greater the danger is when they do not eat or drink it at all.

John Wesley

Group Discussion:

Do you think Christ is present at Communion in a way that He isn’t in other aspects of the service?

Is there a time when you should refrain from taking communion?

Is there a time when you would refuse to take communion with someone?

Is there a time when you think someone shouldn’t be allowed to take communion?

and later in the session:

Do you think we can still eat and drink judgement on ourselves in this way?

How should we examine ourselves before we take communion?

What should we do if our relationship with someone else in the Church is not in a good state?

Can / Should we take communion if we’ve had a bad (i.e. sinful) week?

In what ways will you approach the Lord’s Supper differently in the light of what we have considered this evening?

Homework:

Over this half-term we will be working to memorise Matthew 7:1-6. You will have to keep refreshing Matt.5:1-26, Matt.6:5-34 and Matt.7:7-28 whilst you do this.

(we’ll memorise the whole of the Sermon on the Mount over the 3 years of DTP)

To Be a Christian Q&A 131-136

Read the BCP’s Exhortation to those reluctant to receive Communion

In preparation for next session, read the Prayer of Humble Access, and reflect on the questions below.

We do not presume to come to this your table, O merciful Lord,
trusting in our own righteousness,
but in your manifold and great mercies.
We are not worthy so much as to gather up
the crumbs under your table;
but you are the same Lord
whose nature is always to have mercy.
Grant us, therefore, gracious Lord,
so to eat the flesh of your dear Son Jesus Christ,
and to drink his blood,
that our sinful bodies may be made clean by his body,
and our souls washed through his most precious blood,
and that we may evermore dwell in him, and he in us.  Amen.

for reflection:

What Biblical passages can you hear echoed in this prayer?

What do you think would happen if we did come to His table trusting in our own righteousness?  What would it look like for us to do this?  How would I know I was trusting in my own righteousness, rather than in His ‘manifold and great mercies’?

Do you think it is inappropriate (maybe even dangerous?) to talk of ourselves as ‘not worthy to gather up the crumbs under His table’?

How can we hold together such a view of ourselves alongside a sense of assurance and confidence in God’s love for us?  How would you help someone grow in that confidence and assurance if it was lacking?

Do you think that it is true that it is always the nature of God to have mercy? What do you make of Romans 9:18? …or Ex.34:7?

Why does Cranmer pick souls and bodies as those aspects of our being that need to be cleansed and washed? Why not hearts and minds? Do you think he is right to focus on these? Why / why not? (Matt.12:34-37; 15:16-20 & 22:34-40).