9.3.2026 - Lisa Liou

Thursday, September 3, 2026

1 Corinthians 11:33

So then, my brothers and sisters, when you gather to eat, you should all eat together.

Time and again, the scripture draws upon the imagery of eating together at a table. One of the most poignant visuals shows up in Luke 14 and a parable of the great banquet.

There were a lot of no shows to the master’s immaculately prepared feast, so the servants ended up calling people in from the streets.

The communion table is like this. Jesus searched out those who were far from God. We were pursued, brought in to feast with the master. Likewise, the Book of James warns about favoritism in the gathering of believers. Special attention and good seats are not supposed to be saved for the rich while the poor have to stand up or sit on the floor.

In other words, all throughout Scripture, there is a beautiful theme of community across status. On Monday, we already mentioned Paul’s instructions to eat together. This is a socio-economic issue. The wealthy could come early and get good seats and fill up while the working class were late.

Communion is a meal of togetherness, first, with Christ and second, with one another.

We commune with Christ together. Because of what communion represents it is easy to see why Paul’s corrections are so important. If the rich can feast on Christ’s body and blood first, it implies that the privileged have first access to Christ and a place of higher standing. But, in Christ, we all have equal access and equal standing. In some church traditions, a point is made to ask everyone to hold the elements until we can take them together, as an expression of this truth.

Sharing a meal together is one of the most intimate ways to create connection with other humans. In our modern lives, we often eat alone with members of the household coming and going from evening activities or with technology distracting us in the background. But, historically, across time, meals bring communities together. They give us rhythms and routines of interconnectedness. We slow down and become nourished

together around a shared space. Holy communion is meant to be such a time for the body of Christ to be nourished by Christ’s sacrifice. It is one of the most beautiful images in all of scripture.

What would it mean to carry out our church fellowship in the spirit of communion? Have we created any barriers to togetherness or any sense of hierarchy within the body that we need to repent of? Take some time to focus on these questions and let the Lord reveal what he wants to share with you.