Mattingly on the Meal of the Lord

"Christ initiated the Lord's Supper, presided over it, and commanded it to be kept as a memorial to His sufferings for His people. Therefore, we should never come to the Lord's Table in a lighthearted manner giving little attention to why we are eating the bread and drinking from the cup...The apostle advised the saints: "Wherefore whosoever shall eat this bread, and drink this cup of the Lord, unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup. For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord's  body" (I Corinthians 11.27-29)...Some  people  have interpreted Paul's words to mean that anyone who feels himself unfit to take of this sacred meal ought not to do so, but in context it simply means one must examine the manner in which he takes the bread and wine.  A person who feels his unworthiness is a person who has a fit mind to come to the Lord's Table. It is vital that he not think so lightly of Christ that he neglects to keep this ordinance." -- David K. Mattingly