Head Coverings and the Lord’s Supper
1 Corinthians 11:4-5, 11-15, 20-22, 27-29, 33
Is it ok for women to pray with her head uncovered? Is it improper according to the Bible? Is it ok for me to have long hair? What if someone asked you this?
There was a custom/culture 2000 Years ago similar to ours where women had long hair and a head covering while men had short hair. Do we need to follow that culture? The reason it was an issue was because back then, some women felt it wasn’t necessary to wear head coverings anymore because they felt they experienced a vision from God where they didn’t need to be like angels. They said they were equal with men and everyone, so if men don’t have to, why do we?
Answer:
If our culture doesn’t teach unbiblical things, then we need to respect and follow it.
Women in that culture should cover their heads and men should have short hair. They didn’t cover their heads because they were not equal to men.
Everything comes from the lord
Men and women are equal
Men and women are different. They were created equal but in a different way. If the culture asks women to wear head coverings to express the differences in men and women, then it’s ok.
Are men and women different? Of course. How are they different? In their roles given by God. What are their roles?
Role given to men: to be sacrificial and take responsibility to take care of family. Guys should sacrifice more
Role given to women: to support and help. If there’s anything lacking, you step up to help. That’s why there can be perfect unity between men and women.
Single women: look for someone who can make sacrifices and take responsibility. If your boyfriend is not like this, consider breaking up.
Single guys: look for someone who is willing to support/help. Someone who has a gift of serving others is a great candidate.
Men and women are equal but different. So how can we make a decision on the issue of head covering? It doesn’t matter, follow the culture and apply the biblical principles that men and women are equal but different.
Eschatological reality: reality when Jesus returns. We will not struggle with sin and temptation.
Present reality: we struggle with temptation and sin. We should live with great hope for the future. The Corinthian church was confused and thought the eschatological reality was already here and that they were angels.
If you are planning a vacation to Hawaii and plan to do lots of exciting things, that is your eschatological reality. But today your reality is that you go to the office. If you show up in a swimsuit, you’ll get in trouble. Corinthians were confused because they thought they didn’t need to wear head coverings because they were angels.
The way they did communion was different than how we do it here. The early church had a meal together called the Agape meal. There were rich people and poor people. 80-90% were poor. Around ten percent were rich. The people who were rich were able to come early because they didn’t need to work. The people who worked arrived late. The people who arrived early ate first and got drunk. The late and poor people came and found nothing to eat. Paul was condemning the rich and asking if they were stupid/crazy/etc and that they were not doing the actual communion anymore.
He suggested the attitude we should have during communion is 4R
What is communion? They ate together, broke break, had cup of wine/grape juice and thought of it as Jesus’s blood. We confess that Jesus is in me and I am in Him. There is a deep and important meaning to it. We need to do it regularly. It’s ok to not come to HOP to pray. But don’t miss the communion. God asks us to do it. What is the right attitude?
Remembrance: we need to remember who god is, what he’s done in my life, his faithfulness/ goodness, my first love with him, etc
Repent: if there is something in my life that doesn’t glorify him, we repent
Resurrection: proclaim the resurrection of Jesus. We are also expecting our own resurrection. Jesus’s resurrection is the example of what we all will experience.
Recommitment: we think about our relationship with God and renew it. People in the Catholic Church teach that communion is a real participation of the crucifixion of Jesus. Not a symbol but real. They use the term transubstantiation and believe the bread and wine actually become Jesus’s blood and body. We can believe this, why not? Our church building is holy ground, but others can see it as just a building. Pd sees it as a building but also as a holy place. Same with communion, we can just see it as a bread and cup, but it can miraculously be Jesus’s blood and body through holy expectation.
Go into deeper meaning of communion.
When we eat together with our church members. I become one with those who are taking the bread with me. The Bible teaches we need to discern our body, which means to think about who we’re living life together with. The unity I have with God and our brothers and sisters cannot be separated. The great commandments are love the lord then love your neighbors. I need to give myself to my brothers and sisters. Am I thinking about them? If we become more mindful of what they’re going through, we become a better spiritual community and family. We can pray for them, share, etc
How can we do this better? Hc and Sunday fellowship. Wait for one another. Even those who are late. It’s ok to eat cold food. If you really need to eat first, we need to make a plate for those who are late.
What about Sunday worship and church fellowship? We can wait for them, such as the CM people who are waiting for parents to come. Let’s be more mindful. Instead of going for 2nds and thirds, let’s think of someone who might not be able to eat and save some food for them.
Christian life is not just a one way relationship with God, but also with our brothers and sisters. We are doing well, but we can do more.
