Lord’s Meal
Michael Bird at “Euangelion” wrote a very interesting post called “Lord’s Supper” about a week ago. This was his conclusion:
I tend to think that a church pot-luck dinner with a few prayers and hymns sung at the same time is far closer to what the early church did re: the Lord’s Supper, as opposed to current practices involving a 5 minute guilt-trip sermonette, a crumb of bread, and a drop of sour grape juice. Rob Jewett wrote: “The purely symbolic meal of modern Christianity, restricted to a bit of bread and a sip of wine or juice, is tacitly presupposed for the early church, an assumption so preposterous that it is never articulated or acknowledged.” [1] Bo Reicke showed that the early Eucharistic meals took in the context of a common meal shared by a broad stream of early Christianity through the fourth century (see Jude 12, Ign. Smyr. 8.2 on “love feastsâ€) [2].
[1] Robert Jewett, “Tenement Churches and Pauline Love Feasts,†Quarterly Review 14 (1994): 44.
[2] Bo Reicke, Agapenfeier, 21-149.
Bird also points to two posts that describe how and why the Eucharist was separated from the meal: “Why did Eucharist and agape diverge?” and “The Earliest Liturgy: Developments“.
What do you think? Should the “Lord’s Supper” be a true meal, or is the snack enough?
Gathering and Going Out Together
Yesterday, we met with the church like we normally do on Sunday mornings. Someone led us in singing some songs. Someone read a chapter from the Bible. Someone taught. Several people shared exhortations. This happens every week, and God often uses this weekly meeting to encourage, convict, rebuke, admonish, teach, train, comfort me – and hopefully others.
Also, yesterday, we shared the Lord’s Supper. After our meeting we set out some tables and put some chairs around them. Someone talked about the significance of the bread and the cup as we took the elements. Then, we ate lunch together. We eat together every week, and specifically share the bread and the cup about once per month.
But, after our church meeting and after eating lunch together, we did something different. We had already been meeting together for just over four hours. But, the most exciting part of our church meeting was just about to begin.
Several of us changed clothes, and drove about a mile to a nearby government assisted housing project to rake leaves. As my regular readers know, my family and some other friends spend time in this neighborhood every Saturday. When Margaret (my wife) found out that no one raked leaves for this housing development, she asked if we could all go over on Sunday afternoon and rake leaves for them. Many of the residents are elderly, or in poor health, or single moms.
So, for a little over two hours – until it got dark – we raked leaves for the people that we knew in the neighborhood and for a few neighbors that we do not know… yet. We were able to talk to many of the neighbors while we were raking. We even sang “Amazing Grace” with one of the elderly ladies. Some of the children who lived in the neighborhood asked if they could help rake leaves. We also enjoyed piling up the leaves so the youngest children could jump in the piles!
At one point, a man who lives across the road from this government assisted housing development walked up. I met him, and he introduced himself. He asked if we were “a church group”. I explained that we were part of a church, and that we were raking leaves to help out some of our friends who live in this neighborhood.
He told me that he “goes to church”. He told me the name of the church. I know this church and many of the leaders. I’ve asked those leaders if they would like to do a service project together with us so that we could show the unity of Christ and the love of Christ together. They said that they would get back to me about it. I’m sure that they’ll get back to me one day.
Anyway, this man said that he was glad that we were doing something to help “those people”. He said that he often thought about doing something to help them, but he never seemed to have time. I told him that we were in the neighborhood every Saturday morning and that he was always welcomed to join us. He said, “ok” and went back into his house. How I wish he had come back with a rake to help us. But, he didn’t.
By the way, we ended up raking leaves for six different housing units (nine families).
While our group was raking leaves, another group from the church was also serving someone. One of our friends has a coworker who was trying to move out of her boyfriend’s house because she decided she was in a bad situation. My friend asked the church for help during our church meeting, and at least eight people helped this young lady move. Of those eight people, only one of them knew this young lady.
It is so exciting to be part of a church that actually serves people! And, we don’t just serve people that we know, or people who are part of the church, or people who can serve us back. We serve people who we may never see again, who we have never seen before. But, we serve people because we love them. And, we love people because God first loved us.
(If you would like to see some pictures of us raking leaves, I’ve posted some on our family blog in a post called “Raking Leaves With Friends For Friends“.)
Bread, Cup, and Leaves
On Sundays, when we meet with the church, we often eat lunch together. This lunch is very informal – each family brings food for themselves and usually enough to share with one or two others so we can invite others to stay with us. Then, once per month, we have a larger lunch together – more of a “pot luck” – during which more people usually stay and eat together. During this larger lunch, we also specifically share the bread and the cup. We call this “larger lunch” our “Lord’s Supper Fellowship”.
This Sunday we’re planning to have one of our Lord’s Supper Fellowships. So, we’ll be sharing the bread and cup and lunch together with the church. But, this Sunday, something else special is going to happen as well.
Last Saturday, we found out that no one rakes the leaves for the residents at the government assisted housing development where we spend time. Many of these neighbors are older, in poor health, or are single moms. So, it is very difficult for them to rake leaves for themselves.
We’ve invited the church to join us in raking leaves for this neighborhood this Sunday. So, after our weekly church meetings, and after we eat lunch and have time to talk, some of us will change into work clothes and go over to the neighborhood to start raking leaves.
I can’t think of a better way to celebrate the Lord’s Supper and to meet together with the church than by serving other people – especially those who can’t serve us in return.
What did I learn in church about the Lord’s Supper?
For the next few days, my son and I will be hiking and camping part of the Appalachian trail in Pennsylvania. While I’m away, I’m going to re-publish some of my older posts – posts that many of you have not read. As you can tell, I wrote some of these during my earliest examinations of the church in Scripture. Feel free to comment or discuss the posts among yourselves. I’ll try to reply to your comments when I return.
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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?
Following Ignatius
Ignatius of Antioch was one of the earliest Christian writers following the apostles. He died sometime around 110 AD in Rome. After being arrested in Antioch, he was led to Rome through Asia Minor. On the way, he wrote seven letters, six to churches and one to Polycarp.
Ignatius was very interested in the gospel. Ignatius’ gospel was a literal interpretation of the historical events and persons surrounding the birth, life, death, burial, resurrection, and continuing ministry of Jesus Christ. His desire was to see Christians living in harmony with the one gospel.
In order to exhort Christians toward harmony with the one gospel, Ignatius also encouraged them toward a three-part church leadership structure that included one bishop, multiple elders, and multiple deacons per city.
Evangelicals are proud of the fact that we follow Scripture and not traditions such as those espoused by Ignatius. But, do we follow Ignatius over Scripture? You can judge for yourself…
By being subject to the bishop and the elders, you might be sanctified concerning all things. (Ign. Eph. 2.2b)
Let us make every effort then not to oppose the bishop in order that we might submit ourselves to God. (Ign. Eph. 5.3b)
Therefore, as the Lord did nothing without the Father, being united with him, neither by himself nor by the apostles, in the same way you must do nothing without the biship and the elders. (Ign. Mag. 7.1a)
The one who does anything without the bishop, the elders, and the deacons, such a man is not clean in his conscience. (Ign. Trall. 7.2b)
Let that Eucharist be considered proper which is either by the bishop or by the one he permits. (Ign. Smyr. 8.1b)
It is not proper to baptize or to have a “love feast” without the bishop. (Ign. Smyr. 8.2b)
The one who honors the bishop is honored by God; the one who does anything without the knowledge of the bishop serves (worships?) the devil. (Ign. Smyr. 9.1b)
It is fitting for men and women who marry to make there union by the approval of the bishop. (Ign. Pol. 5.2b)
These are only a few of the passages. I left out passages where Ignatius said that same thing to different churches. So, according to Ignatius, believers should do nothing with the consent of the bishop and elders. In fact, those who do anything without their leaders obviously have impure motives (unclean conscience). No one should have a love feast (Eucharist, communion) or baptize without the bishop’s approval. No one should get married without the bishop’s approval. If believers stay within the bishop’s will, then they are sanctified. If they move outside the bishop’s will, then they are in trouble, actually going against God himself to serve the devil.
Change “bishop” to “senior pastor”, and I think this fits very closely with many modern teachings concerning church leadership. You can especially find these types of teachings under topic of spiritual “covering”. But, I don’t think you’ll find these in Scripture.
Are we willing to admit that in many of our leadership concepts and practices in the church we follow Ignatius more closely than we follow Scripture?
Scripture… As We Live It #19
Here is the 19th edition of “Scripture… As We Live It“:
These are blemishes on your love feasts, as they feast with you without fear, looking after themselves; waterless clouds, swept along by winds; fruitless trees in late autumn, twice dead, uprooted; wild waves of the sea, casting up the foam of their own shame; wandering stars, for whom the gloom of utter darkness has been reserved forever. Therefore, stop having love feasts altogether. If people are going to come in and spout heresy, then it is much better to cut out that kind of fellowship. Or, if you want to have fellowship and feasts, make sure that you tightly control who can speak. It is much easier to keep everyone from talking than to deal with the ones who cause trouble.(Jude 12-13 re-mix)
Lord’s Supper as a meal in practice
I’ve mentioned before that I believe the Lord’s Supper should be eaten as a meal (see “The Lord’s Supper as a Meal?“). This is not a theoretical doctrine for me. Instead, this is something that we practice as a church.
Today, we did just that: we ate the Lord’s Supper as a meal. I’ve posted some pictures on our family blog in a post called “The Lord’s Supper and Mrs. Jenny’s Cross”.
The second part of that post title (“Mrs. Jenny’s Cross”) refers to the picture of a painting of a cross that Mrs. Jenny gave our family. I’ve written about Mrs. Jenny previously in posts called “I think we’ve been adopted” and “She said, ‘I’m very close’“.
By the way, for those who are interested, our Sunday church meeting started around 10:30 this morning, and ended around 3:30 this afternoon.
Breaking bread and a wordle
Jeff, from “Until All Have Heard“, has written an excellent post about the Lord’s Supper called “After Supper He Took The Cup“. In his article, Jeff argues (and I agree) that the phrase “break bread” signifies a meal, not just the breaking and passing of bread. In relation to understanding this and other phrases in the New Testament, Jeff says:
Secondly, I think we just don’t understand the biblical metaphor for “breaking bread†well enough. It is a custom that the Western world has little or no comparison to.
When my family first went to live in the tiny little country of Tajikistan as missionaries in 2000, we were soon offered the delight of eating a meal with a local Tajik family. What we witnessed that day changed our lives forever.
As we sat on the floor on a beautiful rug we, waiting for a huge meal, the man of the family took a loaf of flat bread and broke it and passed it around to each of us sitting there! It was his way of welcoming us to his house and his way of expressing that he will provide for us. Anything that he could offer was ours!
I immediately said to myself, “This is what Jesus did! Yet I am experiencing it first hand in a Muslim home completely cut off from the Gospel.”
Jeff, this is an excellent explanation. But, if we tried to understand and do everything that Scripture says about the church, don’t you realize that we would have to change almost everything? 🙂
Also, many bloggers have created wordles of their blogs. A wordle is a visual representation of the rate words are used in a text – a blog in this instance. I’ve tried to create wordles for my blog before, but since my topics change from week to week, the wordles never seemed to catch the complete nature of my blog. So, I created a wordle from my last 500 posts (the maximum allowed by Blogger). If you’re interested, click the following link for a visual representation of the words used at this blog: Wordle of The Assembling of the Church.
Skipping Meals
Have you ever skipped a meal? Have you ever skipped two or three meals? Have you ever fasted for several days? What happens when you skip meals? If you are like me, then your body becomes weak.
When Jesus and his disciples at their last meal together, it was an actual meal (Matt. 26:20-21,26; Mark 14:22; Luke 22:14, 20; John 13:2,4). When the first believers came together after Pentecost, they ate meals together (Acts 2:42, 46 – see Acts 25:35-38 where “breaking bread” means eating a meal until satisfied). The believers in Troas came together for the purpose of sharing a meal (Acts 20:7). When the Corinthians believers come together, they ate a meal (1 Cor 11:20-21). When Paul corrected the Corinthians, he did not tell them to stop eating a meal together. Instead, Paul told them to make sure they are eating “together” because some were eating while others were going hungry (1 Cor 11:21). In fact, when Paul reminded the Corinthians of Jesus’ last supper with his disciples, he reminded them that it was a meal (1 Cor 11:24-25). (For more info on the Lord’s Supper as a meal, see “The Lord’s Supper as a meal“.)
Sharing meals was very important in the first century Greco-Roman culture, and sharing meals was very important for the early church. When Jesus called the lukewarm Laodicean church back to himself, he called them to a meal (Rev. 3:20). When the Lord gathers all of his children together in the end times, he calls us to a meal (Rev. 19:9).
Sometime in the early history of the church, it was decided that meals were not important any longer (For more info, see “Why just the bread and the cup?“). The meal was replaced with a piece of bread and a sip of wine, or sometimes a piece of bread dipped in wine, or sometime just a piece of bread. The meal became symbolic, and the symbols began to take on more significance.
Could it be that the church has become weak today – and few will suggest that the church is not weak – because the church has been skipping meals for hundreds of years? Believers have not benefited from the fellowship and edification that comes from sharing a table and meal with other believers.
Meals can be messy, time-consuming things. It can be much simpler to skip meals. But, I believe, it is devastating to the body of Christ when the church decides to skip meals.
Spurgeon’s "Building the Church"
These are excerpts from Charles H. Spurgeon’s sermon entitled “Building the Church” (or “Additions to the Church”) concerning Acts 2 which he gave on April 5, 1874.
I want you to notice this, that they were breaking bread from house to house, and ate their food with gladness and singleness of heart. They did not think that religion was meant only for Sundays, and for what men now-a-days call the House of God. Their own houses were houses of God, and their own meals were so mixed and mingled with the Lord’s Supper that to this day the most cautious student of the Bible cannot tell when they stopped eating their common meals, and when they began eating the Supper of the Lord. They elevated their meals into diets for worship: they so consecrated everything with prayer and praise that all around them was holiness to the Lord. I wish our houses were, in this way, dedicated to the Lord, so that we worshipped God all day long, and made our homes temples for the living God…
Does God need a house? He who made the heavens and the earth, does he dwell in temples made with hands? What crass ignorance this is! No house beneath the sky is more holy than the place where a Christian lives, and eats, and drinks, and sleeps, and praises the Lord in all that he does, and there is no worship more heavenly than that which is presented by holy families, devoted to the fear of the Lord.
To sacrifice home worship to public worship is a most evil course of action. Morning and evening devotion in a little home is infinitely more pleasing in the sight of God than all the cathedral pomp which delights the carnal eye and ear. Every truly Christian household is a church, and as such it is competent for the discharge of any function of divine worship, whatever it may be. Are we not all priests? Why do we need to call in others to make devotion a performance? Let every man be a priest in his own house. Are you not all kings if you love the Lord? Then make your houses palaces of joy and temples of holiness. One reason why the early church had such a blessing was because her members had such homes. When we are like them we will have “added to the church those who were being saved.
(HT: Jeff)