The Lord’s Supper as practiced by the first-century church was
based on the LAST Supper, which in turn was a Passover meal. All three were
patterned after the Roman banquet, a formal reclining meal attended by
invitation only and lasting upwards to four hours. It included a first course
or the meal proper (known as a deipnon), and the second course or
drinking/dessert course (known as a symposium), which included singing,
teaching, prayer, reading of Scriptures and letters, ministry of the gifts of
the Spirit, etc. As far as we can tell there was no repetition of those familiar
institutional words, “this is my body” or “this is my blood.” That did not come
about until the second century.
The Lord’s Supper was a REAL SUPPER, likely held on a weekly
basis, and was the locus for fellowship and service. It comprised the totality
of the worship experience.
To learn more about this topic, read “SUBVERSIVE MEALS: An
Analysis of the Lord’s Supper during the first century under Roman Domination”
(Wipf and Stock). Now in stock at Amazon. Prime members can one click for free
two-day delivery. Also available in Kindle.
No comments:
Post a Comment