Friday, June 17, 2005

Good Morning!

Note that I won't be at church this Sunday (unless it rains). Need someone to help lead the discussion.

The new unit for this week is Unit 7 , The Lord's Supper

Focus Scripture for the Week: Acts 2:42

They devoted themselves to the apostles teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.

Today's scripture: 1 Corinthians 11:17-34, John 6:25-41, Mark 14:12-25

-- the three scriptures that close this week's lesson have very different points.

-- the Corinthians passage is about Paul rebuking a congregation for their lack of respect for the Lord's Supper and what it represents. They were, in particular, missing the symbolism of the unity of the church that the supper represents. I will say that my understanding of Communion has been expanded this week, because I was always focused on the rememberance portion of Communion -- "do this in rememberance of me". The idea that Communion also represents the unity of the church, and is something that we should rally around as a unifying practice, hasn't been something that has been a major part of my understanding.

-- Question for Sunday would be -- Paul is also knocking them for the lack of preparation to take communion. How should we prepare mentally and spirtually for communion?

-- To me, John's scripture is about reinforcing the idea that Jesus is the bread of life. Oddly, I hadn't really made the connection to the Jesus's earlier pronouncements that he was the bread of life and the Lord's Supper comments that the bread is his body. In thinking about it, bread = body of Christ is a thought that runs throughout the Gospels, not just at the last supper.

-- Mark's scripture takes us back to the start of the week, with his version of the Lord's Supper. This version varies a little from the earlier one we read because of a more detailed mention of Jesus discussing his betrayal. In this instance, there is the idea that someone who was sharing a meal with Jesus had already commited to betraying him, and Jesus says that it would be better for him if he had never been born. Connecting back to the Corinthians' scripture, if we are are not living and preparing appropriately, our presence at Communion could be much like Judas's -- someone sharing a meal at Jesus's table but already carrying around plans to betray him in our hearts. We need to remember that Communion is a symbolic event, but not an empty one. There is meaning and responsibility attached to it.

-- A question for Sunday would be the idea of the open table, in the Methodist church, which is different than other traditions, such as the Catholic church. Bobby could discuss the differences I think.

Today's prayer request: Nelson Ferreiro, a family friend of Megan Douglas

Nelson was recently diagnosed with brain cancer, and had surgery to remove the tumor. However, they could not remove all of it, and he was given 2 - 6 months to live. We need to pray for him and his family

Today's class member prayer:

Chris Wesson

Have a great day.

Jay