What did I learn in church about the Lord’s Supper?
After writing my previous post, I began to think about what I learned about the church as I was growing up “in” church. I thought this would make an interesting series. I don’t know how may posts there will be, or how often they will come along. Perhaps other people will offer topic suggestions in the comments.
So, what did I learn in church about the Lord’s Supper? I remember being a young boy and watching the Lord’s Supper with awe and wonder. I learned quite a bit about it actually. First, I learned that there are seven required elements for the Lord’s Supper.
Element #1: Welch’s Grape Juice. Every Lord’s Supper must include Welch’s Grape Juice. There is something special about this juice, apparently. I think Mr. Welch must have been at the Last Supper…
Element #2: Chicklet-Sized Pieces of Styrofoam (I mean, bread). Those little things are remarkable! I’ve always wanted to see what I could do with one of those pieces of bread and a slingshot…
Element #3: Thimble-Sized Plastic Cups. It never occurred to me to ask where Jesus got the little cups for the Last Supper. Perhaps one of the Mary’s brought them…
Element #4: That Amazing Shiny Tray with Holes for the Thimble-Sized Plastic Cups. Wow! Have you ever seen anything so beautiful! It’s like a flattened soldier’s helmet that has been riddled by a machine gun…
Element #5: A Shiny Frisbee to Hold the Chicklet-Sized Pieces of Styrofoam. Again, I always wondered if I could throw it all the way up into the choir loft.
Element #6: A Table with the Words “Do This in Remembrance of Me.” This table always sits up front, just under the pulpit. I was never sure which was holier. I think maybe the table, because we only used it once every three months…. except to hold a pot of flowers given in memory of …
Element #7: A White Table Cloth to Cover Everything. I wondered how long the junior deacons had to practice folding that table cloth just right. I mean, most of them usually sat on the first row and watched the two deacons who were the best folders do their thing.
Okay, so perhaps some of these observations were skewed based of the fact that I was a young boy and thinking about things that young boys think about… like soldiers… and frisbees… and sling shots. But, besides learning about the elements, I also learned a few rules about the Lord’s Supper.
Rule #1: Don’t Spill the Grape Juice! And I mean it!
Rule #2: The Lord Supper should be performed once every three months. I’ve mentioned this already in reference to the holy table. I think there was something extra special about months with 5 Sundays, because on that fifth Sunday we not only had the Lord’s Supper, we also got a break from listening to the preacher at night: that’s when we had the “hymn sing”.
Rule #3: Don’t Talk! shhhhhh… Don’t make me take you out of here.
Rule #4: Don’t move your hand toward either of the shiny plates unless you had been baptized. Seriously, that made me want to get baptized. I mean, how am I going to try out my sling shot if I can never get my hands on one of those little pieces of styrofoam?
Rule #5: Don’t Spill the Grape Juice! And I mean it!
Rule #6: Only take one piece of styrofoam and one cup of Welch’s Grape juice. It doesn’t matter how hungry you are…
Rule #7: Wait until the preacher stops talking before you eat or drink. Again, it doesn’t matter how hungry you are…
Rule #8: Don’t Spill the Grape Juice! And I mean it!
Rule #9: Don’t swish the Grape Juice in your mouth, or gag on the piece of styrofoam. Yeah, I was right… it is styrofoam.
Rule #10: When you are finished with the little plastic cup, put it in the little plastic cup holder. Oooohhhh… so that’s what those little holes in the back of the pew are for.
So, as you can see, I learned much about the Lord’s Supper while I was growing up. In fact, when I started reading the Bible for myself… hey!… that stuff’s not in there…
I hope you realize that this is all “tongue-in-cheek”. I am not trying to make fun of the way people practice the Lord’s Supper. I am hoping that you are asking the following questions: 1) What do I think about the Lord’s Supper? and 2) What am I teaching others about the Lord’s Supper?
The Sacraments and the Church…
I have been greatly challenged by Jim Peterson’s book Church Without Walls. In chapter nine, “New Boundaries for the Church,” he states, “One lesson that comes through in our discussion of history and of form and function is that the church has constantly tended toward narrowing.” What he means by this is that historical periods (i.e. the church fathers, the reformation), theological systems, denominational distinctives, and culture add limitations to our understanding of Scripture and, therefore, our understaning of the church. Here is one example:
One example is the Reformers’ treatment of the sacraments. Previously the pope had served as the unifying factor for the church. He defined the church. Since all the Reformers rejected the authority of the pope, a replacement symbol was needed. It is significant that the sacraments-particularly baptism and the Lord’s Supper-are included in virtually all of their definitions. But do they belong at all? Is that why the sacraments were given to God’s people? Is it baptism that makes a church a church? Is that why the Lord’s Supper was instituted? The sacraments were not given to define the church for us. And whenever we impose a second meaning on something in this manner, its true significance is diminished or even lost.
For the past few months, I have been pondering a definition of the church. I even had a series of blog posts about the definition of the church (Final post with links to previous posts). My definition did not include the sacraments. I believe the sacraments are very important, but I do not see where Scripture uses the sacraments to define the church. Are the sacraments something that the church does? Yes. Do the sacraments define the church? No. Is a church still a church if it does not practice the sacraments? Yes. Does a group become a church because they practice the sacraments? No.
Am I correct? If not, why not? If so, then what is the purpose of the sacraments (or ordinances, if you prefer)? Also, if I am correct, have we diminished the true significance of the sacraments?
Another Anabaptist on baptism and the supper
From the Schleitheim Confession (1527) presided over by Michael Sattler (1490-1527):
So it shall be and must be, that whoever does not share the calling of the one God to one faith, to one baptism, to one spirit, to one body together with all the children of God, may not be made one loaf together with them, as must be true if one wishes truly to break bread according to the command of Christ.
An Anabaptist on baptism and the supper
This is from “The Church of God” by Dietrich Philips, c. 1560:
The two tokens [baptism and the Supper] are left us by the Lord that they might admonish us to a godly walk (Col 2:6; Rom 16:18), to a mortification of the flesh, to a burial of sin, to a resurrection into the new life, to thanksgiving for the great benefits which have been given us by God, and to the renewing and confirming of brotherly love, unity, and fellowship (Matt 26:26; Mark 14:23; Luke 22:20; 1 Cor 10:17; 11:25).
Activities during the gathering of the church
Most books on ecclesiology are surprisingly silent concerning the actual gathering of the church. In many cases, the gathering is assumed, and there is no distinction made between ethical requirements for individuals and requirements for the body as it is assembled. (Note: One notable exception is David Peterson’s book, Engaging with God. However, Peterson’s book is not a study in ecclesiology per se, but a biblical theology of worship. It is an excellent read!)
When ecclesiologies do examine the gathering of the church, they usually turn immediately to proper activities that constitute “worship.” (Again, there is rarely any distinction made between “worship” and the “gathering of the church.” They are usually assumed to be synonymous.)
Should proper activities be our first concern when we consider the church assembled? It is true that many Scripture passages discuss the practices of the NT church: Acts 2:42-47, Acts 11:26, Acts 20:7, 1 Corinthians 5:4, 1 Corinthians 11:17-34, 1 Corinthians 14. More importantly, is God, first and foremost, concerned that we are including the proper activities during our church gatherings?
In Acts 20:7, Luke tells us that Paul spoke to the disciples in Troas when they came together on the first day of the week “to break bread.” This is usually seen as an indication that the church gathered to participate in the Lord’s Supper weekly. This is confirmed in other passages, especially 1 Corinthians 11. However, in 1 Corinthians 11, Paul teaches the Corinthians (and us!) something very important. He says:
Therefore when you come together in one place, it is not to eat the Lord’s Supper. For in eating, each one takes his own supper ahead of others; and one is hungry and another is drunk. (1 Corinthians 11:20-21)
Paul indicates that the Corinthians were gathering to partake of the Lord’s Supper – they were eating and drinking. However, Paul says it was not the Lord’s Supper in reality, because they came together with wrong motives, wrong attitudes, and in wrong relationships with one another. The activity itself did not constitute a proper gathering!
Perhaps when our churches gather, there are more important matters than what activities we should include in our gatherings. We must continue to study Scripture to see what God says about our gatherings!
The Lord’s Snack…
Over the past few days, I have been asking the following question: “Should we begin our study of the church with contemporary church practices then compare them with Scripture, or should we begin our study of the church with Scripture then compare that with contemporary church practices?”
This article from the Milipitas Bible Fellowship describes their search for a proper understanding of the celebration of the Lord’s Supper. (Thank, Bro. David Black for the link!)
While this article is long, it is well worth reading. Here are a couple of excerpts:
It’s amazing how much the church does because of man-made traditions, that when closely scrutinized, simply can’t be justified from God’s Word.
Changes in the life of a church are never easy. In fact, even if the changes are more Scriptural than its current practices, they are still very threatening. Thus, the status quo, no matter how barren it leaves us, is usually preferred over change.
I know the church with whom I gather has practices and traditions that “can’t be justified from God’s Word.” However, it is our desire to change those practices. We are not perfect people, but we do desire to mature in Christ-likeness, both as individuals and as the body of Christ… even if that change is not easy.