I Corinthians 11:20-22a "When you come together, it is not the Lord's Supper you eat, for as you eat, each of you goes ahead without waiting for anybody else. One remains hungry, another gets drunk. Don't you have homes to eat and drink in? Or do you despise the church of God and humiliate those who have nothing?"
When I came across this passage recently, I couldn't help but think of every Haitian pitch-in I ever witnessed.
Now and then our school would host some sort of celebration - a harvest or spring festival, a Christmas program, or a graduation ceremony - culminating in a shared meal via a buffet line.
It tended to be a rather uncomfortable situation. That's because - like the Corinthians - people came hungry.
The first people through the line walked away with plates literally overflowing with food. The last were often left with little more than scraps. I remember seeing a woman once leave the buffet with a full plate and an entire can of Pringles. Many took an extra paper plate, intending to use it to cover their leftovers for the dusty trip home.
Worst of all? One time an entire cheesecake went missing before the meal even began. (Melissa wanted the death penalty for the offender, but the culprit was never caught.)
Even though it was discouraging to see this behavior, I understood it. These were families living with - and dependent on - a perpetual survival mindset.
Still, we all professed to be Christians, part of one Body.
No matter how understandable the behavior might be, "Every man for himself" does great damage to the unity which believers should experience around the table. It is, as Paul described it, "despising the church of God".
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