Reflections on 1 Corinthians 11

1 Corinthians 11 (Contemporary English Version)
1. You must follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ.
   
2. I am proud of you, because you always remember me and obey the teachings I gave you.
   
3. Now I want you to know that Christ is the head over all men, and a man is the head over a woman. But God is the head over Christ.
   
4. This means that any man who prays or prophesies with something on his head brings shame to his head.
   
5. But any woman who prays or prophesies without something on her head brings shame to her head. In fact, she may as well shave her head.
   
6. A woman should wear something on her head. It is a disgrace for a woman to shave her head or cut her hair. But if she refuses to wear something on her head, let her cut off her hair.
   
7. Men were created to be like God and to bring honor to God. This means that a man should not wear anything on his head. Women were created to bring honor to men.
   
8. It was the woman who was made from a man, and not the man who was made from a woman.
   
9. He wasn't created for her. She was created for him.
   
10. And so, because of this, and also because of the angels, a woman ought to wear something on her head, as a sign of her authority.
    
11. As far as the Lord is concerned, men and women need each other.
    
12. It is true that the first woman came from a man, but all other men have been given birth by women. Yet God is the one who created everything.
    
13. Ask yourselves if it is proper for a woman to pray without something on her head.
    
14. Isn't it unnatural and disgraceful for men to have long hair?
    
15. But long hair is a beautiful way for a woman to cover her head.
    
16. This is how things are done in all of God's churches, and that's why none of you should argue about what I have said.
    
17. Your worship services do you more harm than good. I am certainly not going to praise you for this.
    
18. I am told that you can't get along with each other when you worship, and I am sure that some of what I have heard is true.
    
19. You are bound to argue with each other, but it is easy to see which of you have God's approval.
    
20. When you meet together, you don't really celebrate the Lord's Supper.
    
21. You even start eating before everyone gets to the meeting, and some of you go hungry, while others get drunk.
    
22. Don't you have homes where you can eat and drink? Do you hate God's church? Do you want to embarrass people who don't have anything? What can I say to you? I certainly cannot praise you.
    
23. I have already told you what the Lord Jesus did on the night he was betrayed. And it came from the Lord himself. He took some bread in his hands.
    
24. Then after he had given thanks, he broke it and said, "This is my body, which is given for you. Eat this and remember me."
    
25. After the meal, Jesus took a cup of wine in his hands and said, "This is my blood, and with it God makes his new agreement with you. Drink this and remember me."
    
26. The Lord meant that when you eat this bread and drink from this cup, you tell about his death until he comes.
    
27. But if you eat the bread and drink the wine in a way that isn't worthy of the Lord, you sin against his body and blood.
    
28. That's why you must examine the way you eat and drink.
    
29. If you fail to understand that you are the body of the Lord, you will condemn yourselves by the way you eat and drink.
    
30. That's why many of you are sick and weak and why a lot of others have died.
    
31. If we carefully judge ourselves, we won't be punished.
    
32. But when the Lord judges and punishes us, he does it to keep us from being condemned with the rest of the world.
    
33. My dear friends, you should wait until everyone gets there before you start eating.
    
34. If you really are hungry, you can eat at home. Then you won't condemn yourselves when you meet together. After I arrive, I will instruct you about the other matters.
    
    

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    Paul continues, in chapter 11, to address the self-indulgence of the Corinthian Christians. It is important to keep in mind this context as Paul addresses the issue of women with uncovered heads and indulgences in the observance of the Lord's Supper.
    
    Concerning women, Paul's position is this: "Christ is the head of every man, and the man is the head of the woman, and God is the head of Christ." (11:3) Therefore, he says, "Every woman who prays or prophesies with her head uncovered dishonors her head." (11:5) The covering of the woman's head represent her subordination to the man and to Christ. This is controversial with many in today's society. But however one wishes to interpret this teaching and its application to the present-day church, the underriding principle remains the same. Paul's teaching that women should have their heads covered and that they should recognize their husbands as their head was the custom of his day, and the Corinthian Christians in their insistence on exercising their liberties had included this liberty. But the exercise of their liberties, this one included, was causing conflict in the church and reflecting shamefully upon the Christian community outside the church.
    
    Expression of personal freedoms is contradictory for a disciple of Christ who taught and practiced submission and self-sacrifice. The exercise of personal freedoms is also contradictory to the exercise of love toward one another. It was this love for one another that Paul lifted up as the guide one's behavior in all matters. One does not well reflect Christ in their actions by insisting on their right to express personal freedom. Nor will one be effective in promoting the gospel by the exercise of their personal freedoms, which will ultimately come into conflict with another's freedoms.
    
    Self-indulgence and the Lord's Supper are especially contradictory. But this contradiction was taking place in the Corinthian church. The wealthy were overeating and drinking to the point of becoming drunk, while the poor within the church were going hungry. How can one commemorate Christ's sacrifice on their behalf while indulging themselves? Love and submission toward others, not indulgence of self and rights, are the rule for the Christian who is a serious disciple of Christ.