"Help, I always feel unworthy at Communion"

A Common Lament

A surprising number of believers feel emotions of unworthiness when communion comes around, especially when these words of Scripture are read out loud:

"Whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord." (1 Corinthians 11:27)

There is more than one cause of communion sorrow, but we begin with good mourning.

It's good to bewail our sins

The "penitential psalms" - the psalms which focus on our shortcomings (e.g. 32, 38 & 51) - are replete with sorrow. Because of his sin the psalmist "wastes away" and "groans all day long." His guilt "overwhelms" him "like a burden too heavy to bear."  There is everything proper about godly sorrow for our shortcomings and failures. Probably not enough of it in our churches today.

It's good to meditate on the sorrows of the Lord Jesus

Furthermore, it is good to mournfully contemplate the sufferings of the Lord Jesus. 

A friend of mine would weep visibly and audibly at every communion. As he meditated on the cross he could not keep back the tears. "See from his head, his hands and feet, sorrow and love flow mingled down. Did e'er such love and sorrow meet or thorns compose so rich a crown?"

But other forms of sorrow may be borne of misunderstanding. For example, we may think that God is angry or disappointed with us because of our failures and sins.

Wrong Sorrows

The central doctrine of the Gospel is that we are put right with God by faith alone, made right in his sight, "justified."

It's one of the most liberating - and most dangerous - doctrines in Scripture. Liberating because it means that God views us as perfect and sinless the moment we believe, for "that moment from Jesus a pardon receives." Dangerous because in careless hands it could be twisted to mean "my sin does not matter."

If we are sorrowful because we think that God views us according to our spiritual performance (which is always below par) then our sorrow needs questioning and correcting in the light of the Gospel.

We need to realise afresh that by faith alone we have been made righteous in the eyes of God forever - without a single thought word or deed of ours either contributing to or detracting from that justified status.

And there is more good news.

A double transaction takes place when we are united to Christ by faith. All our sin is placed on him, and he pays for it in full upon the cross, and all of his righteousness is 'imputed' or deposited into our account.

From the moment we taste the gift of faith God views us "in Christ," having all our sins washed away and possessing the perfect life that Jesus lived.

In banking terms, before Christ, we were "in the red," bearing an enormous debt of our sins. In Christ not only has our debt been wiped away, but God has deposited into the account of our 'righteousness' the perfect obedience of Jesus Christ!

So when we sit at communion we are viewed by God perfected "in Christ" no matter what our own personal shortcomings or failings may be.

The Gospel truly is astounding!

It's important, also, to note the reason Paul included the solemn exhortation to self-examination. 

Unforgiveness and Thoughtlessness

The first letter to the Corinthians was written to a messed-up church. All sorts of divisions abounded in the fellowship. This is the situation Paul writes his warning about eating and drinking in an unworthy manner to.

Some Corinthians, for example, gorged themselves at the fellowship meals while others - sitting in their very presence - went hungry!

How could these believers be so uncaring and unforgiving towards their brothers and sisters who were members of The Body of Christ, but then think they could go on and honour The Head of The Body by taking the elements?

They despised The Body, but came to the table wanting to honour The Head! Something seriously amiss there!

Eating the bread and drinking the cup with such wrong attitudes towards brothers and sisters is eating and drinking in an unworthy manner.

How to Examine Ourselves

We should never take communion in a casual way, that's the big takeaway from 1 Corinthians 11. We ought to examine ourselves and do so before we eat the bread and drink the cup.  

Examine what?

Our relationships with brothers and sisters. Are we harbouring unforgiveness? Then we should freely forgive - even those who may have made themselves our enemies and won't be reconciled with us.

We should examine our besetting sins. We all sin, but to take the elements of forgiveness while we harbour deliberate, unrepentant sin is to make a mockery of the Cross. Godly and sincere repentance is what we need to excercise every day.

We ought to confess all our sins, clinging to the promise of complete forgiveness when we do so. 

We need to feed on Christ by faith. The regular visible reminders of his love and forgiveness which the table represents are one of the basic necessities of our spiritual lives. We must not allow the Accuser of the saints to keep us from the table.

Once self-examination is done, our hearts should rejoice. Communion should be a place, not only of godly sorrow but of delight in a salvation so rich and free.

Examination and introspection may be the first steps of our communion journey, but gladness, joy and thanksgiving should be the destination.

AI Drawing: "Dalle draw a picture of a person taking communion with a sad face"