“So anyone who eats this bread or drinks this cup of the Lord unworthily is guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord.”
1 Corinthians 11:27 (NLT)
Today’s passage is a sober reminder: communion is not about snacks and sipping juice. It’s a sacred act—a remembrance of Jesus’ sacrifice. Paul rebukes the church in Corinth because they turned the Lord’s Supper into a selfish meal, disregarding the needs of others. Some overindulged while the poor went without. Their impatience brought shame to the church and dishonor to the cross.
Verse 27 warns us not to partake “unworthily,” and the footnote in my Bible replaces “sinning against” with “being responsible for” the body and blood of the Lord. That shift in wording hits differently. It means that when we come to the table casually, with unrepented sin or selfish motives, we’re not just being irreverent—we’re bearing responsibility for the suffering Jesus endured. It’s as if we’re agreeing with the crowd that crucified Him.
Paul later says that this careless approach is why many among them were weak, sick, or had even died early. That’s how serious communion is. It’s a spiritual checkpoint. When we come to the table, we should pause to ask the Lord to search us—our pride, our bitterness, our hidden sin—and cleanse us before we eat and drink.
So today, don’t rush. Don’t worry about the taste. This meal is holy. Let the bread remind you of the body that was broken for your healing. Let the cup remind you of the blood that was poured out for your forgiveness. Receive it with gratitude. Remember the cost.