The Lord Jesus, as He established the sacrament of the Lord’s Supper, taught His disciples about another kind of authority, one that does not depend upon who shall be reputed the greatest. He also taught that it did not depend upon how people might flatter the one who holds to carnal power – when someone exercises lordship the way the Gentiles do it is only prudent to call them beneficent benefactors.
It does not depend upon what people are accounted as – in this case the greatest. Nor does it depend upon them arranging to be called that which is spiritually correct. Rather, the one who desires to be greatest must behave as the younger, and the one who is chief must be the chief servant.
As you partake of the Lord’s Supper today, and as you discern the Lord’s body in the saints around you, consider how you might serve them, how you might give to them. This is not the same as seeking a reputation for serving, which is quite a different thing.
Connect this supper to what You will do for others this afternoon and evening. Our Lord was broken apart so that we might be put back whole. Our imitation of Him extends to this – we are to be broken apart as well, in a way that restores others and ourselves to them. Are you married to your own opinions and does it separate you from a brother? Are you convinced that you are right, and so disrupt the body? There is a deeper right than being right. Are you among those that serve? Some that serve have a tray in their hands and some do not. But always remember that in the kingdom of God the table waiters in truth take the first place.
So come to the table, eat and drink.