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<\/a>This conflict is the context in which Paul recalls for the Corinthians the words used when recalling what Jesus said at the Last Supper. Paul writes this:<\/p>\nFor I received from the Lord what I also handed on to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took a loaf of bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, \u201cThis is my body that is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.\u201d In the same way he took the cup also, after supper, saying, \u201cThis cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.\u201d For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord\u2019s death until he comes.<\/p>\n
The text concludes with: \u201cWhoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be answerable for the body and blood of the Lord.\u201d In this context, eating and drinking the bread and wine \u201cin an unworthy manner\u201d refers to the behavior of the wealthy in perpetuating the divisions of \u201cthis world.\u201d In Christian communities, those divisions were abolished.<\/p>\n
We see that Paul understood that Christ came to restructure society – to make sure that all humans were equal and treated in an equal manner. Christ\u2019s teachings, which proclaim that all humans are part of one family, wipes out all earthly distinctions or any type of stratified society. What Jesus encountered in the society into which He was born, was a society that was very stratified. It was stratified not only along the lines of wealth, but along the line of faith<\/i>. Even the particular \u201creligious group\u201d a person belonged to determined his position in society.<\/p>\n
Think about what you know of the society in which Jesus lived. Hatred for the Romans, Samaritans, Gentiles, sick and handicapped, lepers, poor and those who worked for the Romans (e.g., tax collectors<\/i>) was rampant and a real part of society. There was no equality. Jesus preached against these distinctions and, as we see in the Gospels, embraced those who others hated.<\/p>\n
Such differences, of course, arose in newly converted communities – it appears to be a natural tendency of humankind.<\/p>\n
Within Christian Communities All Are supposed to be Equal!<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
It must be remembered that for Paul the Church was the Body of Christ continued in time. Unity was key to this idea of the Body of Christ. In Corinth, when the meal ceased to be a common meal, this … Continue reading