每日灵修 | 11.21 圣桌礼仪:关顾穷困的人
Table Manners: The Poor
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哥林多前书 11:27-34
1 Corinthians 11:27-34

……我弟兄们,你们聚会吃的时候,要彼此等待。
— 林前 11:33
…My brothers and sisters, when you gather to eat, you should all eat together.
—1 Corinthians 11:33
昨天我们已经看到,使徒保罗正在处理哥林多教会中一个重要的问题。有些人狼吞虎咽地吃喝圣餐的饼和酒,没有留下什么给其他人享用。保罗向他们陈明,当人这样做时,他们就是没有“分辨(主餐)是主的身体”了。(参林前 11:29)
身为信徒,我们需要好好默想耶稣以祂自己来偿还我们罪债的恩典,我们也需要感恩并彼此分享主赐予我们的一切。
从另一个角度来看,或许保罗是在表达他对教会中穷困的会友特别的关顾。富有的人若吃喝了大部分的饼和酒,穷困和脆弱的人便没有得吃了。保罗在说,那些做这样事的人其实不是在领受主餐。归根究底,主耶稣时常顾念穷困的人,身为基督的跟随者,我们也应当效法祂。
所以,来到主的圣餐桌前时,我们必须明白,我们与神有个人的,但却不是私人的关系。我们怎样待教会中“最小的”(参太 25:40)肢体,最能够反映出我们与神的关系。我们必须省察,我们教会中是否每一个人都得到了关怀和建立?若有人遭到忽视或不被理会,为了基督身体的缘故,我们应如何去补救呢?

As we noted yesterday, the apostle Paul was dealing with a major problem in the Corinthian church. Some people were gorging themselves on the communion bread and wine and leaving others with none. Paul explained that when people did this, they were not "discerning the body of Christ."
As believers, we need to reflect well on Jesus' gift of himself to pay for our sins, and we need to share with one another in thanks for all that the Lord has shared with us.
Another way to look at this may be that Paul was also showing particular concern for poorer members of the church. When those who were wealthy consumed most of the bread and wine, the poor, the most vulnerable, were left without. And Paul was saying that the people who were doing that were not participating in the Lord's Supper. After all, the Lord Jesus always showed concern for the poor—and as followers of Christ, so should we.
So when we come to the Lord's table, we must recognize that our relationship with God is personal but never private. How we treat the "least of these" (Matthew 25:40) in our church reflects our relationship with God. We must ask, Is everyone in our church being cared for, and built up? If someone is being ignored or overlooked, how can we make things right, for Jesus' sake?
祷告 · Prayer
主耶稣,祢看顾穷困的人,供应他们的需要,并且扶持他们。惟愿我们——祢的教会,能够反映出祢在这方面的性情。奉祢的名祈求,阿们。
摘自《每日箴言》
普世佳音出版