We find ourselves often going in many different directions in the Abernathy household. Cindy draws us together with the expectation of a shared evening meal each night, and we work hard to clear our schedules for these important moments that are physically, emotionally, and spiritually significant. There is something about sitting around the table over a meal that nourishes us in many ways.
Paul reminds young Christians in our text today that their unity is found as they gather around the table of the Lord. Using Christ's metaphor of his body as nourishing bread, Paul writes, "Because there is one loaf of bread, we who are many are one body, because we all share that one loaf." When Jesus told his disciples to observe the Lord's Supper "...in remembrance of me," it was a call to unity, to recognize that what makes us one is the faith we share in Jesus Christ. Though we are many, we are one body.
We will gather around the Lord's Table on Maundy Thursday evening, remembering the sacrifice of Christ in the context of human sin. As we partake of the bread, we will hear his words, "I am the bread of life," and as we drink the cup, "I am the vine...". The cross unifies us in understanding that we are sinners...it also unifies us through faith in the One who "laid down his life, for his friends."
Jim Abernathy
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