In many Communion services the leader, as a part of the scripture reading, will include that phrase from I Corinthians 11:27: "Therefore, 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. 28 A man ought to examine himself before he eats of the bread and drinks of the cup. "

After hearing that passage, Communion services often caused me great turmoil. That word unworthily would ring in my ears and squeeze out any possibility of finding grace in communion. The word unworthily would call up all my latest failings and inadequacies as a Christian. I was indeed unworthy. No doubt about that.

In reality, what Paul was trying to say in that letter to Corinth is completely different. While I thought Paul was referring to Christian character, he is really making reference to motivation.

What is the Holy Spirit trying to say to us through this passage? First of all, remember that earlier in this same letter, Paul has proclaimed the crucified Christ as our Passover Lamb. That's clearly a reference to the historical events of Exodus 12.

Therefore, to fully understand the spirit of these instructions for celebrating the Lord's Supper, we must go back to Exodus, and to the night before God delivered the Israelites from Egyptian slavery.

The first Passover was the final act of God which brought the release of the Hebrew people from their Egyptian oppressors. Importantly for us, it was not the result of any military heroics by the Jews, but was the result of God's power alone.

Each year thereafter, in an annual celebration commanded by God, the story of the Exodus was re-lived in every Jewish family circle. The ceremony included a special meal in which the ritual symbols of bitter herb and matzo (unleavened bread) were eaten in remembrance of the Jews' divine redemption.

That festival of freedom is a prototype for our celebration of the Lord's Supper. As Paul reminds us, the events of the Passover night are the Old Testament foreshadowing of the salvation bought for us with Christ's blood.

What does all this say to me about my problems about unworthiness? To begin with, if I'm thinking in terms of being righteous, then I'm approaching the Communion service like it's some kind of Independence Day freedom festival where I have delivered myself from sin.

My self-examination prior to participating should not be to judge my own worthiness, but rather to make certain that I am approaching the Lord's Table in remembrance of his delivering work on Calvary.

If I see in the Communion service the opportunity to re-live my own personal deliverance from the tyranny of sin, then my partaking is not in any sense unworthy. In fact, it is only when I see the Lord's Supper as an anniversary celebration of my own personal Exodus from slavery to freedom, that it is truly a worthy celebration.

For the Jews, the Passover was a commemoration of their journey as a people from bondage to redemption. In His death on the Cross, Jesus became our Passover Lamb. He thereby infused that Jewish festival with significant meaning for us.

Is that the spirit with which we approach the Communion services? Let's try each time to recapture, in an attitude of thanksgiving, the miraculous deliverance Christ has provided us.