I’ve been thinking a lot about communion lately and, in doing so, noticing that most of the time we tend to interpret the biblical material about the practices and patterns of the church in the context of the practices and patterns of our church, and thus we are often unable to ask the larger, fundamental questions about how things should look and be done. It’s a self-justifying process where instead of looking for and trying to decipher the context of the biblical author we simply assume our own context, as well as assuming our church experience reflects correctly what the biblical authors were suggesting. 

I’ve spent literally all my life in churches that practice communion in an similar way–down the bite of bread, down the swallow of juice–and recently I’ve been reading the relevant texts of Scripture and wondering if this practice is actually what it was intended to be. I’m not so sure it is. I could be wrong. I need to find out. The following few paragraphs reflect my thought process leading to my questions. 

The Meal

The Jews had a meal they would eat together to celebrate the Passover, called the Seder. It was a commemorative meal that looked back on the passing over of the Spirit of God in Egypt and freed them from slavery, and their Exodus out of Egypt and into the land of covenant with Yahweh. It looked back on tears and pain, and looked forward to the restoration of the kingdom. 

The night Jesus was betrayed and arrested He celebrated this meal with his 12 closest followers. At some point during the meal (accounts differ on the order) he passed out bread and told the men to break off pieces for themselves. He called the bread his body. He then poured wine, and called the wine a new covenant in his blood. Paul’s explanation of this event, written earlier than the Gospel accounts, says that Jesus instructed his followers to, as often as they do it, do it in remembrance of Him, and thereby proclaim the Lord’s death until he returns. 

In the Didache, a Christian discipline manual and one of the earliest documents of the ancient church, the instructed blessing for the bread of the Lord’s Supper says, “As this broken bread was scattered upon the mountains and being gathered together became one, so may Thy Church be gathered together from the ends of the earth into Thy kingdom.”  While the nature and importance of the Didache is debated, the imagery here seems to correlate perfectly to what the table fellowship aspect of the Lord’s Supper is all about.  In the second chapter of Mark, Jesus is criticized for dining with “sinners.” Jesus says, “I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners.” 

Table Fellowship

The act of mutual acceptance that constitutes table fellowship means that what Jesus was doing was taking their place so they could take his. The Son of God took the place of the sinner so the sinner could take the place of the Son of God. There is a union taking place that the Lord’s Supper celebrates, encourages, and strengthens. And so I wonder, can this sort of encouragement toward and strengthening of union and oneness among the community of believers take place ideally in a public worship service? Can the current practice accomplish this by what is essentially taking a ceremonial pill?

The Warning

Another question I have been thinking about lately is the warning in 1 Corinthians 11 that is repeated in many churches’ communion liturgies. It usually goes something like this: 

Paul warns that those who take communion with unconfessed sin (or with unrepentant hearts) eat and drink judgment on themselves.

I wonder why so many churches say this when Paul did not in fact say it. This is factually incorrect. He warns those who partake “in an unworthy manner,” and in context that seems to be related to a specific situation going on that strengthened the disparity between wealthy and poor church members in Corinth, the opposite of what the communion meal was intended to do. Further posts will explore this and other issues surrounding communion. 

Until the next post, here are some questions I’m trying to answer: 

1. When Jesus instituted the bread and cup during his last Passover Seder meal in the upper room, is it plausible to suggest that all that Jesus intended to establish is being fulfilled, in purpose and function, in the current practice of what is essentially taking a ceremonial pill? Which of the cultural and spiritual aspects of the Seder and of table fellowship does this practice account for?
2. What is table fellowship, and what role does that play in the Lord’s Supper/communion?
3. Should communion be taken at a public worship service or in private with only believers present, and should it be taken as a meal, part of a meal, or separate from a meal?
4. On what basis are non-baptized attendees prohibited from communion?
5. What is the nature of the judgment Paul says some are bringing on themselves by wrongfully partaking?
6. Should communion be a separate gathering (believers only) from a weekly worship gathering where non-believers may attend?