Honor in Worship and Order
Two problems in the gathering: heads covered or uncovered when praying to our Father, and a Lord's Supper where the rich eat ahead while the poor go hungry. That last is why some are weak and ill — they eat without discerning the body. Wait for one another.
11 1Be imitators of me, just as I also am of Christ.
2Now I commend you for remembering me in everything and keeping the traditions as I passed them to you. 3Now I want you to know: the head of every man is Christ, the head of woman is man, and the head of Christ is our Father. 4Every man who prays or prophesies with his head covered disrespects his head. 5But every woman who prays or prophesies with her head uncovered disrespects her head—it's the same as having it shaved. 6If a woman refuses to cover her head, let her hair be cut off; but since it's shameful for a woman to have her hair cut off or her head shaved, let her cover her head. 7A man shouldn't cover his head, since he's the image and glory of our Father; woman is man's glory. 8For man did not come from woman, but woman from man. 9Neither was man created for the woman, but woman for the man. 10So a woman should have a sign of authority on her head, because of the angels.
11Nevertheless, in the Lord woman is not independent of man, nor is man independent of woman. 12For as woman came from man, so man comes through woman; everything comes from our Father. 13Judge for yourselves: is it fitting for a woman to pray to our Father, head uncovered? 14Doesn't nature itself teach you that long hair on a man is a disgrace to him, 15but if a woman has long hair, it is her glory, because her hair is given her as a covering. 16If anyone is inclined to argue about this, we have no such custom, nor do the churches of our Father.
The Lord's Table Dishonored
17In giving this instruction, I don't praise you, because you come together not for better but worse. 18For first, when you gather as a church, I hear there are divisions among you, and I partly believe it. 19For divisions must even exist among you, so the genuine among you become evident. 20So then, when you gather in one place, it isn't the Lord's Supper you eat. 21For as you eat, each rushes ahead with his own supper—one goes hungry, another gets drunk. 22Don't you have houses for eating and drinking? Or do you despise our Father's church and shame those with nothing? What should I say to you? Should I praise you? I do not praise you for this.
23For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: the Lord Jesus, the night he was betrayed, took bread,
24after giving thanks, he broke it and said, "This is my body, for you; do this to remember me." 25Likewise, after supper, he also took the cup, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, whenever you drink it, to remember me."
26Every time you eat this bread and drink this cup, you announce the Lord's death until he comes.
27So whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord unworthily is guilty of the Lord's body and blood. 28Let a person test himself, then eat the bread and drink the cup. 29For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment on himself. 30That is why many among you are weak and sick, and a number have fallen asleep. 31But if we judged ourselves rightly, we would not be judged. 32When the Lord judges us, he disciplines us, so we won't be condemned with the world. 33So then, my brothers and sisters, when you come together to eat, wait for one another. 34If anyone is hungry, let him eat at home, so your meeting together won't bring judgment. I'll settle the rest when I come.
