This Sunday, we are celebrating the Lord’s Supper at Pear Orchard Presbyterian Church. Paul reminds us in I Corinthians 11:27-29, “Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty concerning the body and blood of the Lord. Let a person examine himself, then, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment on himself.” This passage requires us to prepare for this covenant meal - to think about what we are doing when we come to the Lord’s table - so that we do not eat and drink in an unworthy manner. Each one of us is to examine himself/herself individually. But in regards to what should we be examining ourselves?
Our Westminster Larger Catechism gives a helpful summary of what this self-examination entails in question 171:
How are they that receive the sacrament of the Lord’s Supper to prepare themselves before they come unto it? They that receive the sacrament of the Lord’s Supper are, before they come, to prepare themselves thereunto, by examining themselves of their being in Christ, of their sins and wants; of the truth and measure of their knowledge, faith, repentance; love to God and the brethren, charity to all men, forgiving those that have done them wrong; of their desires after Christ, and of their new obedience; and by renewing the exercise of these graces, by serious meditation, and fervent prayer. [I’ve omitted the Scripture references for each phrase in this answer, but I encourage you to locate and study them in your own copy of the Larger Catechism or online]
The Westminster divines are not teaching “preparationism,” as if by examining ourselves we make ourselves well-deserving of a seat at Christ’s table. Quite the opposite: as we spend time in the days leading up to this ordinance examining our hearts, we see more deeply the reality that by nature we do not deserve a seat at the table, and that our hope for acceptance is in Christ alone. Coming to the table - and making preparation for this supper ahead of time - is an opportunity to survey your soul, to take stock of where things stand spiritually, to ensure not only that you are indeed a believer, but that you are growing in grace and the knowledge of Jesus, and that your love for Jesus is overflowing into a love for others. It’s an opportunity to fan into flames dimly burning wicks, to add fuel to the fire, so that come Sunday you have already been meditating on the wonder of the death of Christ for a sinner such as you, and your heart is tuned to sing His praise all the more.
So take some time this weekend to reflect prayerfully on the state of your own heart. If you are looking for helpful meditations on the Lord’s Supper, check out The Communicant's Manual (1848) by Jacob Jones Janeway, or Plain Words to a Young Communicant (1854) by James Waddell Alexander. Both men are 19th century American Presbyterians who thought deeply on the cross of Jesus and the bread and the cup that He appointed for us to eat and drink to our growth in grace.