Do you ever question the things you've done the same forever? For the past year or so, I've been putting all of the "routine" things under a microscope. I've thought about the topic of communion a lot over this past year and I can't help but think that we've got it all wrong.
Do you think that on the "feast" of Passover, when Jesus was eating with His disciples, when he instituted what we call communion, He had in mind us eating a microbe of a cracker and drinking thimble of grape juice and then saying "Do this in remberance of me"?
I mean, what was Jesus saying to do in "rememberance"? The actually verse reads like this;
"And when He had taken some bread and given thanks, He broke it and gave it to them, saying, "This is my body which is given for you; do this in remeberance of Me." (Luke 22:19 NASB)
Do what? Was it breaking bread and passing it out? Was it eating bread? What?
I think that it was the whole event. Passover was a huge celebration that memorialized God saving the first born of every household that had the blood of the lamb on its' door posts. This was an event that pointed forward to the very night of the first "communion". Jesus was going to be the slain lamb so the God's judgement would pass over all of those who are covered by His blood. I think Jesus is saying celebrate this! Every time you have a meal with people, celebrate this! Everytime you have something to eat and drink, remember Jesus. I think Jesus wanted us to come together, to eat together, to truly commune with both Him and fellow man. I think the thing we do on Sunday's with the little cup and piece of cracker is kind of funny. I don't think it even remotely resembles Jesus' last meal. An intimate dinner with Christ and His closest friends is now portrayed by a bunch of virtual strangers nibbling on crackers and doing grape juice shooters (It's funny isn't it?).
I only write these things to encourage us to seek out true communion with God and one another. Everytime you eat or drink, remember Jesus and remember His sacrifice.
7 comments:
Harold,
I agree - I feel kinda funny eating a corner of a Saltine and a thimble of juice too. Why don't we celebrate in our homes with friends and family? Erin's mom's church encourages the men to be the high priest of their household and celebrate the Lord's Supper frequently. The Quakers (Society of Friends) don't celebrate it in church and instead are said to celebrate every time a glass goes to their lips. I think it all boils down to believers not meeting in houses anymore and relying on organized worship to fill the need. I'm glad our church does it, despite the crumb and drop sizes. I focus more on getting myself right with the Lord before taking it and am blessed every time. I'm also glad we don't do it every Sunday. After 18 years of Catholicism, I know the inherent dangers of repetition and empty ritualism. That's why I think this whole Emergent movement is dangerous as it wants to bring a lot of Catholic elements back.
I think there is a bunch of things like this that don't seem to make as much sense outside of the home fellowship context.
The whole "lord's snack" thing we do is really missing the corporate blessing of sharing a meal with others while remembering the death of our Lord.
But I agree with Matthew that it is still a blessing when we use the time to remember Him and examine our hearts. I alos agree that it would be extra cool if we could be ok with that and still feel great about doing it again at home with christian friends.
irst, Matt, since when do you go by Matthew? I have another friend named Matthew who wasn't Catholic so I was totally confused. Michele helped me figure it out, the "Erin's mom" part should have been a dead give away, but I'm slow. Anyway, thanks for posting, it's great to hear from you!
Anyway, I think we're all on the same page as far as communion goes, it's good to know I'm not totally crazy.
I guess my biggest problem is that the way we celebrate communion at "church" detracts from what it is most likely meant to be, instead of enhancing it or encouraging it. What I mean is this;
Most people (especially Catholics, I served 6 years in Catholic school) think of communion as this event at church when really it should be a lot more constant than that. Matt, I loved what you said the Quakers do. They remember Jesus' life and death every time they take a drink. In theory then, they are also examining their hearts that much as well. I think this is totally the point of communion, a constant and perpetual fellowship with God while examining our own heart. See, I think the flaw is that communion is rarely encouraged outside of a Sunday service. I think it is possible for the two to coincide, but I think the Sunday communion is the lesser of the two, but it has been given a place of prominence yet it barely resembles communion in the Bible. Anyway, that's what I think. Thanks for thinking out loud with me. I'd love to hear more of your thoughts on this or anything else.
On a side note, Matt, you mentioned the Emergent church and ritualism. I'll probably write a post on this later, I guess I'm still trying to figure out where I stand with it all. It seems like there are some good and bad thoughts in this movement. But, it also seems like it is really an undefined thing as well. You can ask ten so called "Emergent" Christians their thoughts on specific subjects and get ten answers. It's kind of the same with some of their leaders. What I do like is they're willing to question how we've been doing church for the past two thousand years. What I don't like is some of their answers to the questions. But, as far as ritualism or the liturgy part of it, I'm a little torn. I guess the more I think about it the more I think I should just make another post and sort out some of my ideas better before I stick my foot in my mouth, further.
I'll do that, hopefully soon. Thanks again for writing.
How about this idea: celebrating Passover as the Jews did, recognizing how Jesus, our Spotless Lamb and Bread of Life, completely fulfills every aspect of the Jewish Passover Feast? Our church has a tradition of doing just that every year on Good Friday. I was able to attend last night, my first experience at a Passover Meal. Talk about changing your perspective on communion! The unleavened (leaven picturing sin) bread of the Passover (yes, it's like a cracker so that's where that part comes from) is broken (Jesus being sinless, broken for us) and half of it is wrapped in a linen cloth and hidden to be found later in the ceremony (picturing the burial and resurrection of Jesus). Four cups of wine are taken during the Passover meal, the third being the cup of redemption. So what Jesus was encouraging His disciples to do was to remember Him whenever they drank the third cup of redemption and partook of the broken, "resurrected" bread.
I agree that the way we do it now is not what He had in mind. And I agree that our emphasis needs to be on heart examination during this most sacred of rememberances. The Passover commemorated the Jews redemption from slavery in Egypt, just as Communion now pictures my freedom from slavery to sin. But is that being lived out in my daily life? Do I still find myself bowing to the old "gods" and choosing sin over communion with my Savior?
Harold,
Can we get another post? It's been over a month! Just kidding. If I had a blog, I'd probably never update it. Looking forward to your next thought....
Matt
I love your idea Laura! I think that it is probably the most biblical. It kind of makes me wonder if communion is to be celebrated only once a year at Passover. The Bible says;
"‘You shall also observe the Feast of Unleavened Bread, for on this very day I brought your hosts out of the land of Egypt; therefore you shall observe this day throughout your generations as a permanent ordinance. " (Exodus 12:17, NASB95)
[1]
It says to keep it as a permanent ordinance 3 or 4 times in Exodus. Passover is obviously a special meal with ties not only to God passing over the homes with the blood of the lamb, but also the ultimate passover lamb Jesus. This was the very same meal that Jesus instituted what we call communion and said to do in remembrance of Him. This is suppose to be a permanent ordinance which Jesus is saying to use in His memory. The symbolism and typology associated with this is amazing, which Laura touched a little.
Again, it makes me feel like the 10 minutes dedicated to communion once a week or once a month really doesn't even come close to what Jesus had in mind. I think the examination thing is great and should be continually happening in the life of a believer, but I feel like communion is so much more than what we do at church. But, by doing it the way we do it, people are fooled into thinking that they're doing biblical communion and are missing the deep meaning of the passover and communion. Hope that makes sense.
Anyway, thanks for your guys thoughts, it's helped me sort out mine. I'm always open to more dialogue on the subject.
[1] New American Standard Bible : 1995 update. 1995. The Lockman Foundation: LaHabra, CA
I have to credit our current pastor with opening my eyes to the Jewishness of our Bible, our God and our Savior. Thus, the emphasis on the Passover connection to communion. All of the feasts commanded in Leviticus are to be observed "forever" so we should perhaps look into observing all of them. Jesus has literally fulfilled the first four feasts, so I'm sure He'll be fulfilling the last two. Anyone else hoping for a "Feast of Trumpets" soon?!
Laura
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