I clean in rain, sun, or snow. |
Remember the words of Paul:
"I have no praise for you, for your meetings do more harm than good . . . For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes." ~ 1 Corinthians 11:17-29
So then, whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord. Everyone ought to examine themselves before they eat of the bread and drink from the cup. For those who eat and drink without discerning the body of Christ, they eat and drink judgment on themselves.
Have we examined ourselves, or do we all blaspheme this Holy practice by taking it unworthily?
"Our body is the house in which our spirit lives here on earth." ~ 2 Corinthians 5:1
This verse is a direct analogy to the temple that David's son, Solomon, built for Yahweh in the Old Testament—a place for Yahweh to dwell among men, a place to be kept Holy, pure—clean.
Cleanliness has always been very important to the God of our Bible:
- In Leviticus 11 Yahweh commanded the Israelites to only eat clean meats and defined just what that meant.
- Throughout much of the Torah, laws were established on how to wash hands, feet, and bodies so that they might be clean.
- If someone was sick they were to be washed—along with their clothing. If a house had grown old it was to be burned to the ground (Leviticus 13).
- In John 13, Yeshua washes his disciples feet.
- To cleanse us of our sins, we are told to be baptized, washed by water.
Cleanliness is godliness.
.
"Create in me a clean heart, O Yahweh." ~ Psalm 51:10
"But nothing unclean will ever enter it [Heaven], nor anyone who does what is detestable or false, but only those who are written in the Lamb's book of life." ~ Revelation 21:27
Yet – how many of us have allowed dirt to remain in our lives, refusing to repent yet partaking of the communion as if we are pure before Yahweh?
"Do you not know that you are Yahweh's temple and that Yahweh's Spirit dwells in you?" ~ 1 Corinthians 3:16
"And all who have this eager expectation [to see Yahweh] will keep themselves pure [clean], just as he is pure [clean]." ~ 1 John 3:3
"Draw near to Yahweh, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded." ~ James 4:8
It is clear from these verses that many of us our taking communion unworthily. Our bodies may be defiled with repentance. Have we washed our hands—or our brother's feet—before accepting the cup and bread? But even more importantly—is our house clean?
"Here, my brothers, are some things I want you to think about. Think about things that are true, honest, right, clean and pure, things that are lovely, and things that are good to talk about. If they are good, and if they bring praise to Yahweh, think about these things." ~ Philippians 4:8
Through scripture, it is clear that Yahweh loves that which is clean and abhors that which is not, yet how many of us attend church with a dirty home waiting for us?
I know I am mostly speaking to the women of the church, as men are much too busy to be bothered with housecleaning. Even so, the men hold some responsibility as they are the head of the home.
But I will get to their duty soon enough.
Women, in Proverbs 31 it is obvious that a virtuous (cleanly) woman maintains the dignity of her home through order and cleanliness.
But there is hope!
"Or suppose a woman has ten silver coins and loses one. Doesn’t she light a lamp, sweep the house and search carefully until she finds it? And when she finds it, she calls her friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost coin.’ In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of Yahweh over one sinner who repents." ~ Luke 15:8-10
The woman had been living in darkness. Her sins caught up to her as she lost her coin, but she turned back to the light and cleaned her house, and was thus redeemed.
I know that it is hard, though, for all the busy men and women to maintain their homes. It is all you can do to attend church amidst your hectic lives. And who wants to refrain from partaking of communion simply because you had no time to clean your house?
Yes, it's a shameful sin to have a filthy home—no one wants to admit the state of their homes. And some of you commit further sin by having a home in such disrepair that you are unable to entertain guests and thus practice the virtue of hospitality.
But Yahweh sees all, and He cannot overlook that which is unclean.
And that is why I'd like to help you by offering my special COMMUNION CLEAN SERVICE. For only $35 an hour, I will make sure your house is perfectly SPOTLESS before communion so that you may partake of the Lord's Supper with a worthy, pure, clean consciousness.
Women, you may be saved the labor and the sin!
Men, it is your duty to buy your wives this pardon.
Single people, why stress anymore?
Sin no more, and hire me!
Email me at keturahskorner(at)gmail(dot)com before your next communion service!
*snorts* THIS. AHHHHHH love it!
ReplyDeletehaha, thanks ;D
DeleteSin no more and hire me. XD
ReplyDeleteI mean, just trying to be helpful 😁
DeleteI think the 1st step that gets us in trouble is thinking "we are worthy". Nothing WE could possible do or think in any way could possibly make us worthy of God's attention based solely on our own efforts...hope that makes sense. God chooses his children and we kinda just have to go along with it (or not) as isn't anything we could make happen...it's ALL him! When we partake in Communion, I think basically we need to examine ourselves & our relationships to see if there is anything that is out of sorts & may need correction as Matthew 5:23-24 states. We also need to make sure (as best we can as puny humans are capable) we are following God's laws & doing our best with what God has put before us to do...Again, hope that makes sense. ;0)
ReplyDeleteThis is satire. But thanks for your well thought out comment :)
Delete