“But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup.” (1 Corinthians 11:28)
My dear flock,
Israel kept the Passover only once a year, with a great deal of forethought. Long before it arrived, people were talking about it, planning the trip up to Jerusalem and making sure they could go. John says many went up early “to purify themselves” (John 11:55). On the tenth day each family picked out a lamb without blemish and kept it until the fourteenth (Ex. 12:3-6). For four days that lamb lived with them. The children, I imagine, fed it and grew attached to it, knowing very well what was coming. Meanwhile, the father went through the house hunting for leaven, because none could remain when the feast began (Ex. 12:15). Leaven symbolized sin.
Even then, Israel was not always ready. In Hezekiah’s day, they had to push the whole feast back a month because the priests were not properly sanctified (2 Chr. 30:3). When the day arrived, many of them still showed up unclean. Hezekiah prayed for them, “The good LORD pardon every one that prepareth his heart to seek God,” and the LORD hearkened to Hezekiah, and healed the people (2 Chr. 30:18-20). I find great comfort in that.
Dear ones, Christ is our Passover. Paul draws the line from it, straight to Christ: “Therefore let us keep the feast ... with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth” (1 Corinthians 5:7, 8).
Our fathers took the words, “let a man examine himself,” practically. They set apart time before the Table, the way faithful Israel set apart days before the feast. They understood how special this means of grace is, and they wanted the church to come with the leaven searched out. This is why Article 62 of our Church Order says,
The administration of the Lord's Supper shall be preceded by a preparatory sermon on the preceding Sunday to prepare the congregation for the celebration.
The Supper itself only takes up one small part of the service. Yet we start getting ready a week ahead. We read the Form, hear preparatory sermons, and try to set aside time mid-week to think about our coming. The Table works its way into our thoughts long before the linen is spread. Our souls need that time to catch up with what they by our mouths will receive.
We all know how easy it is to arrive unprepared. We walk into the assembly, and the whole week flows behind us like a wake. The service starts and we are still in yesterday, or already in tomorrow. A whole other swirls around our head. Is that the heart that will come to the Table?
Paul says, “Let a man examine himself.” We spend so much of life examining others. We talk too freely about them. We see their foibles and inconsistencies, and we judgements. Here the Word turns us around. Examine yourself. It is my heart alone I have to bring before God.
By nature our heart is like a clam dug up from the sand. It opens before God slowly, stiffly, if at all. We open with the pat answers. “Yes, I’m a sinner. Yes, Christ died for sinners. Yes, I ought to be more thankful.” Every word is true. But is my heart open in any of them?
Then, maybe while reading a passage, something gets harder to ignore. Nursing resentment. Satisfying indulgence. Devotions have been blurred, hurried, or few and far between; and in all honestly I haven’t even missed fellowship with the One I’m speaking to. When a soul gets that honest with itself, preparation has begun.
Dear congregation, that is what the week before the Supper is designed for. It gives us time to bring our everyday lives before the Lord, and to ask the Spirit to show us what we have overlooked, or more probably, look right through. “Search me, O God, and know my heart” (Psalm 139:23).
Scripture commands us to examine ourselves, and our preparatory services are there as an aid. So why not preach a series of sermons to help focus our hearts? Why not listen? Isn’t it wise to hold our reflection up to the Law, and desire to hear the gospel while we do?
Paul’s words takes us inward and then outward: “Let a man examine himself, and so let him eat.” All this searching for leaven has a purpose. The Lord wants His people to come knowing honestly what they need, and trusting again in His sufficiency.
I hear the question some of you will ask, “How will I know when I’ve prepared enough?”
Dear soul, your heart can’t carry the weight of the answer. It will never be enough. Your preparation needs repenting of, as does your repentance. Christ alone is your righteousness. We take time for self-inspection in light of God’s Word, because our wandering hearts need to hear the truth again, without the extra clutter and distractions. All our fountains are in Christ.
So, think of this week as an opportunity. Sequester some unhurried time for Word and prayer. Look where the Holy Spirit shines the light. Where leaven is discovered, inside or out, go and seek its complete removal. Repent from the heart, and ask Him to revive it.
Take comfort dear flock. The One who set our table knows how easily we forget Him. In His providence He calls on us to take the time to remember Him.
Your friend and pastor,
Pastor Lewis