Threads – the rituals of the early church (part 1)

One of the things that Acts points out is that they did things with regularity – rituals that grounded them and reminded them why they were together. In our next couple of Hem Notes, these Rituals will be the focus. What did they mean to them and how does their understanding inform how we enter them today? That’s key for this guy – understanding why they did this or that and then find out how I’ve strayed from that original focus.

The first ritual we’re gonna look at is what the book of Acts calls – the Lord’s Table. We have a bunch of different names for it today – communion, eucharist, holy mass. Why did this have such deep meaning for the early church and is there any meaning for us in this ritual today? I’m deeply indebted to two different figures who have helped me gain a great deal of historic insight into this ritual – Dr. Ben Witheringon (Making a Meal of it) and Rev. Adam Hamilton (24 Hours That Changed the World).

One of the pieces of this meal is that it was firmly rooted in the Passover seder meal. The first meal was inserted, as only Jesus could do, into the Jewish celebration of Passover. This festival was the Yearly reliving of the events of the Jewish Slaves redemption from bondage and slavery in Egypt. The Hebrews were promised to be delivered if they covered their door posts with the blood of a lamb. They were instructed in the wilderness to “do this celebration meal” every year in memory of what God had done for them.

But the Hebrews don’t just remember this event – they reenact it! They Live it every year! The words of the feast involve “them” not those that went through this years ago. God passes over US not them – God rescues US not just our ancestors. This is a big deal! The passover was a yearly event not just a yearly celebration. The ritual then became a central piece of who they were and how they lived their lives.

Enter Jesus, several years later, and the understanding of the ritual is continuing. Those gathered around the table that night are celebrating that God had rescued THEM from captivity. Those in the room could still remember a couple days prior and Jesus’ entry to Jerusalem. Was this the eve of FULL REDEMPTION? The room would’ve been a party atmosphere – lively and joyous. But Jesus kept inserting little things that were changing the story – the foot washing (which we’ll talk about in another hem note by the way) and now this new wording added to the very familiar litany of the Jews.

“This Bread now represents my body broken for you”. The bread Jesus spoke of was a bread that was broken and parts hidden that represented the saving work of God in Egypt. It was redemption bread. Jesus now says that it’s his body broken for the world redemption. Then Jesus continues with the cup – “this cup is my blood poured out for you and for many”. The cup too was changed from a Passover element to a redemption act. Jesus was saying our slavery isn’t just ended in freedom, but our slavery to Sin – our lostness to the deep connection of God is being restored.

Jesus says something that I find interesting – every time you eat the bread or drink the cup remember what I’m about to do. Does that mean that this event was to ONLY occur in the midst of the Seder meal once a year? Or does it mean more – does it mean we should remember Christ’s sacrifice and our redemption from slavery EVERY time we eat or drink? Well, it seems to me to be a both/and scenario rather than a either/or kinda thing. I believe that we’re called to remember this sacrifice and what we’ve been given every time we eat and drink, but I also think that the context strongly encourages us to do this kinda thing regularly in the community.

In Acts we read that they got together regularly for meals. But the passage doesn’t stop there it includes this line: Including the celebration of the Lords Meal. They ate together a lot but they also spent focused energy on the celebration of this ritual. Why’d they do it? They did it not to be gory but to celebrate freedom and to remember the price that was paid for it. They did it because their story was way better than any other story they could find! This is the point of doing it today – we live in a world with a MILLION different stories. But ours, this God who doesn’t want us to ever be alone, who wants to restore creation to what it was intended to be, who longs to be connected one-on-one with you and me, has entered our story and offered a way to make it all possible. It couldn’t be done without this event and our celebrating it, with regularity, anchors us – it gives us focus.

Sadly, a lot of folks don’t get to experience the communion meal in this way. At the church I serve, we have communion once a month and I personally know folks who skip communion sunday. They don’t have any purpose for it. Or, I know folks who come forward, take elements, pray a little and leave totally unaffected. Either way, it makes me sad. I know some folks who’ve lived in and with the communion meal for so long in their lives that it is nothing more than a ritual or something to do.

Of course there’s also those folks who LIVE in the communion meal! This meal is a part of them. They don’t see it as just something they do, but it defines them as a person. They are a redeemed people and they view life differently because of it. They aren’t perfect, but they are deeply grateful. They live this story in an amazing way!

That’s the deal that I believe the early church was trying to live into. It’s certainly the way I want to experience this meal and live the life I’ve been given. I want that kind of grounding in the story of Jesus. I want that kind of focus to all that I do. I want that kind of kingdom, grateful, Spirit-led, kind of life!

You know, the early church wrestled with the communion meal. Some abused it, some neglected it, some got drunk at it, some ate to the point of gluttony and the early church leaders had to continually re-focus. I think that’s why one of the first super-leaders of the body of Christ, Paul, took so much time in his letters helping his readers to find that kind of identity in this meal. I think it’s why he gave them specific instructions to follow – he was hoping for that kinda focus for the early followers.

I know a lot of folks who don’t get this thing we do. I know several folks who probably don’t give this meal one single thought – other than at the altar rail itself. My hope is that all of us will find the redemption that this meal signifies – I know understanding it in this context sure has helped me and I hope that every meal I eat will be a celebration of this freedom and that when I gather with my brothers and sisters at a community table to celebrate that we are all refreshed and revived to live Christ’s freedom every time!