1 Corinthians 11:17-22: a reflection

Paul rebukes the Corinthians because their gatherings, meant to unite them, had become marred by divisions and by the well-off eating and drinking their fill while the poor among them went hungry. When you come together, Paul says, it is not for the better but for the worse, for there are divisions among you. In your eating, each one takes his own supper first; one is hungry, and another is drunk. Do you despise God's assembly and put to shame those who have nothing? Their coming together, which should have been an occasion of unity and love, had become an occasion of division: the well-off indulged themselves while the poor went without, so that the gathering shamed the have-nots rather than caring for them. Paul cannot praise this. This shows the wrong of letting selfishness and disregard for the poor divide the fellowship. Do not let selfishness and disregard for the poor divide the fellowship. Coming together should unite and care for all, not shame the have-nots. The gathering of God's people should reflect love, not selfishness. Care for one another, especially those who have less.

Notice what had gone wrong in the Corinthians' gatherings. When they came together, it should have been an occasion of unity, love, and mutual care, a coming together of God's people. But it had become the opposite: marred by divisions, and by a shameful disregard for the poor among them. In their shared meals, each one ate his own food first, so that the well-off ate and drank their fill, even to excess, while the poor, who had little or nothing, went hungry. The gathering that should have cared for all had become an occasion where the well-off indulged themselves and the poor were shamed and neglected. Paul cannot praise this; he rebukes it sharply. This holds a lesson for how we are to be together as God's people. Our coming together is meant to reflect love and mutual care, uniting us and caring for one another, especially for those who have less. It is a serious wrong when selfishness, indulgence, and disregard for the poor mar our fellowship, when the well-provided take care of themselves while the have-nots are neglected or shamed, when our gatherings divide rather than unite. We are called to a fellowship that honors and includes all, that cares for the poor among us rather than shaming them, that reflects love rather than selfishness. We do well not to let selfishness and disregard for the poor divide our fellowship, but to come together in a way that cares for all, especially those who have less. Do not let selfishness or disregard for the poor mar your fellowship. Your gatherings should care for all, especially those who have less. Do not indulge yourself while the have-nots are neglected or shamed. Let your fellowship reflect love and mutual care, not division.

That is worth taking to heart, for our fellowship is meant to reflect love and care for all, especially the poor, not selfishness and division, as Paul rebuked the Corinthians. We can let selfishness and disregard for the poor mar our gatherings; but Paul rebuked the Corinthians for indulging themselves while the poor went hungry. Care for all. Do not let selfishness or disregard for the have-nots divide your fellowship; come together in a way that honors and cares for all, especially those who have less. Do not let selfishness and disregard for the poor divide your fellowship, but come together in a way that honors and cares for all, especially those who have less, as Paul rebuked the Corinthians because their gatherings, meant to unite them, had become marred by divisions and by the well-off eating and drinking their fill while the poor went hungry, saying their coming together was not for the better but for the worse, that each took his own supper first so that one was hungry and another drunk, and asking whether they despised God's assembly and shamed those who had nothing; for their coming together, which should have been an occasion of unity and love, had become an occasion of division, the well-off indulging themselves while the poor went without, so that the gathering shamed the have-nots rather than caring for them, and Paul cannot praise this, which holds a lesson for how we are to be together as God's people, since our coming together is meant to reflect love and mutual care and to unite us and care for one another especially for those who have less, and it is a serious wrong when selfishness, indulgence, and disregard for the poor mar our fellowship and the well-provided take care of themselves while the have-nots are neglected or shamed and our gatherings divide rather than unite, so that we are called to a fellowship that honors and includes all and cares for the poor rather than shaming them, and we do well not to let selfishness and disregard for the poor divide our fellowship.