I very much appreciate R. Alan Strett sending along a copy
of his new volume for review-
Subversive Meals examines the Lord’s Supper
within the sociopolitical context of first-century Roman domination, and
concludes that it was an anti-imperial praxis.
"Although the
Christian communal meal looked much like a typical Roman banquet in structure,
with a deipnon and a symposion, it was essentially different. The Roman meal
supported the empire’s ideology, honored Caesar and the gods, reinforced
stratification among the masses, and upheld Rome’s right to rule the world. The
Christian meal, on the other hand, included hymns that extolled Jesus as Lord,
prophecies that challenged Rome’s ideological claims, and letters—read
aloud—that promoted egalitarianism and instructed believers on how to live
according to kingdom of God principles. Hence, the Christian banquet was an act
of nonviolent resistance, or what James C. Scott calls a hidden transcript.”
His essay in the newly appearing T&T Clark Handbook was
very engaging. So is his book.
Following on the introduction, which offers readers a
rationale for the work and an explanation of it’s place in historical studies
and the methods to be used, S. in chapter two discusses Roman banquets and
their serving as a model for the Lord’s Supper.
Having done that, S. arrives at what I believe to be the key chapter,
“The Passover as an Anti-Imperial Activity” which is closely followed by
chapter 4′s theme- the Jesus movement in its context and chapters five and six,
Luke’s use of meals as anti-imperial rhetoric and the Last Supper as
anti-imperial banquet respectively.
In other words, chapters 3, 5 and 6 are the core of the
book. In these chapters S. explains in
careful detail the purpose and meaning of banquets and meals for first century
persons and the Lord’s Supper as an exposition of anti-imperial sentiments.
The danger of Streett’s work is that readers may be left
with the impression that the Jesus movement was merely one of many political
movements fashioning itself upon Roman anti-Imperial sentiments. But a close reading of the book corrects that
potential first impression.
The book closes with a chapter devoted to the anti-Imperial
nature of Christian meals and “Prophecy as an anti-Imperial meal
activity”. Here Streett could
potentially be accused of reading too much into the meal practices of the early
church. But once again, careful
attention to what Streett says disabuses readers of any such insufficient
understanding.
Streett’s careful scholarship is thoroughly commendable. His
language is conservative but he understands the issues well enough to advise
readers of other viewpoints. Take, for
just one example, his exposition of Col 1:15-20 on pp. 228ff. He writes:
"The letter to the
Colossians contains another embedded song that Christians likely sang regularly
at their banquets."
If you raised your eyebrow at that suggestion you aren’t
alone. And Streett is aware of that,
instantly offering a medium length footnote explaining other possibilities.
At the end of each chapter, Streett carefully brings together
the conclusions of that chapter. A fair
way to read the volume, in my view, is to read these concluding sections
consecutively and then once having done that begin reading the chapters in
their entirety followed by the conclusions once more. Doing so will trigger a number of ‘ahah!’
moments.
This is a fine study, perfectly commendable and incredibly
instructive.
