A Radical Meal?

Did you know that, up until just 200 years ago or so, Communion, or The Lord's Supper, was the central aspect of weekly worship? Today when we think of Sunday morning worship most of us, particularly if we are Protestant, think of the sermon as the central part of worship because that is what we know. But the truth is, making the sermon central is a late development, coming some 1700 years after the beginning of the community of followers of Christ. In fact, until relatively recently, you would never have found a pulpit in the center of the space from which the pastor or priest leads the congregation. The center spot was always reserved for the Altar where the sacrament of Communion was served. For centuries, Communion, also known by early followers as the Common Meal, was the primary way they worshipped the risen Christ.

It makes one wonder why the early followers, who worshipped under great risk to their lives, would place such as emphasis on the Common Meal. After all, today, if we are Protestant at least, we are fortunate if we attend a church that takes Communion once a month. The Common Meal has been relegated to a 'back seat' role, a relic or strange ritual from the past in which we occasionally partake, often not understanding exactly why. Can you imagine the early church risking their lives to participate in Communion as we now understand it? Would you or I risk our lives?

So why was this ritual so important? Why did people risk their lives to worship in this way? I think the answer, which we have lost in large part, is found in the radical nature of the Common Meal. Yes, I said radical. I know Communion today doesn't seem radical at all. In fact, most would label it ultra traditional I suppose. But think about it in the context of first century Judaism. This was a time and place when the meal, eating and fellowshipping together, had great significance. You might remember that it was Jesus' practice of dining with sinners and outcasts that often earned him the hatred of the leaders of the day. By dining with these people, the ones on the margins who society casts aside, Jesus was making a statement about solidarity. He was saying, hey, I am God's Son, and these are the people I chose to be with... these are the people that God loves... these are the people that will make up the kingdom.

The Common Meal, or Communion, is an extension of the table fellowship which Jesus practiced. In Communion, we dine at the table with all Christians everywhere. In Communion the community of faith, past, present and future, in every locale, of every race and background, joins as one community, and we announce our solidarity under the cross. It is in The Common Meal that we say that we are brothers and sisters, whether black, white, Asian, African, rich, poor, wise or foolish. It is in The Common Meal that we make clear our allegiance to and love for those brothers and sisters who live in Palestine, Africa, South America, Los Angeles, Iraq, New York, or Meridian Mississippi. It is the Communion table that draws us beyond national borders, and ties us to something larger and far more important... the kingdom.

Jesus prayed a lot while he walked the earth. Many of his prayers were kept between himself and God, but on one occasion the bible records a single prayer for us, those who would come after and follow Jesus' lead. And what did Jesus pray for us? Did he pray that we would be wealthy and prosperous? Did he pray that we would be wise? No, he prayed that we would be of one heart and one mind, a unified community, just as he was unified with the Father. (John 17: 6-12) This was Jesus' wish for his followers, and this is part of why we celebrate Communion together.

So perhaps, next time I take Communion, I will remind myself that I am intentionally joining in solidarity with not just those who sit on either side of me at church, but also those across town who suffer under hardships, and those across the world who suffer under all sorts of tyranny and oppression. Maybe, just maybe, remembering this as I remember Christ will draw me nearer to my brothers and sisters. In a time when politicians would seek to divide us by red and blue states, when leaders would seek to claim our highest allegiance to the national interest, perhaps claiming allegiance to people and places beyond my neighborhood, even beyond my country, will help me to think in new ways about how I live in the world. Surely this Common Meal is a radical thing after all.

A Response to a Reversal...

Hi Steven,

I think you have written an intriguing and challenging essay… one that requires some thought. I have read it a couple of times, and agree with much of what you have said. I also know how you feel about the book thing... I just don't think I have enough to say to fill up a whole book. I really admire people that take the time and effort to pull together something like that.

As for your esaay in particular, I do believe that we all have needs, and I also think that we should look to build relationships with those who are in need of material things, like food, shelter, education, healthcare, etc... not just because they have need, but because our relationships with them can meet many of our own deep needs... those less material needs for community, belonging, friendship, love, and the presence of God. Too often we tend to look down on people, even as we try to help them, which in the end hurts both us and the other.

In the 58th chapter of Isaiah the writer begins by speaking of how the Israelites try to connect with God (worship), expecting God to meet their needs. Unfortunately they are going about it all wrong. Isaiah tells them that the way to connect with God and have their own needs fulfilled (presumably spiritual needs more than material) is not to engage in certain rituals of worship (like fasting) but rather to serve the poor and oppressed. Through these acts of compassion, Isaiah says that the people will have their own spiritual gardens watered.

In Matthew, the 25th chapter, Jesus talks about being present in the poor. He literally indicates that when we help the poor, we are helping him. The early church took this very seriously, creating a great emphasis on hospitality to strangers, the poor, etc… By serving the poor the early church believed that they were coming into contact with Christ himself. This is really just another way of saying that they could feel the grace of God in their lives in a unique way when they served those who were in need. You still hear this all the time from people who work in homeless shelters, food kitchens, etc… Over the last couple of years I have heard from thousands of volunteers on the Mississippi coast who have said that their time serving was much more of a blessing to them than it was to the ones they helped. Of course, the ones being helped would say that they received the blessing.

I think that service to and relationships with the poor is one pathway through which God channels his grace and meets our spiritual and emotional needs. The good news in that we are not faced with an “either/or;” either focus on meeting my needs or focus on meeting someone else’s; but rather we have a “both/ and.” I believe Martin Luther King Jr. had it right when he wrote that "All men are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality." When I serve those in need, when I share my possessions, my time, and my life with them... we I fight for them, stand up for those who cannot stand up for themselves... then both they and I experience God’s grace, meeting each of our needs at various levels. While I serve way too little, and give way to little, I do believe that the times when I am serving and giving are the times I feel closest to the mind of Christ and to God. Peace, Chris B

A Reversal of Thought

I have thought about writing a book. But I normally just end up with a bunch of short little essays.................. Anyway, I thought I would share one with you. So here it is:


Every man has needs. That is the poor man. The rich man. The married man. The single man. Their needs are different. But they all have needs. I know so many people who focus simply on those who don’t have what we think of as the essentials. But when did we make not having three meals more important than having joy and peace? I could eat all day and still be extremely unhappy.

So what are the needs that each of us should try and fulfill for others? I can buy a homeless man a meal, but tomorrow he will still be hungry. Buying that meal is easy. Its 5 bucks at Mcdonalds. But does that truly help him? And I’ve had people who come into my business and beg who obviously need help. But I have never known how to help them. I want to. I truly do. But how? Do I bring them into my office and talk with them? Most have drug problems and what do I know about drug problems? I have never had a drug problem. So how do I relate?

Maybe I don’t have to. Maybe I just have to Love them. Be willing to step past the idea that I can help them. I need to tell them that I have no knowledge of what they are going through. That I want to help, but I am as full of need as they are. Because I truly am.

Maybe what we should do is share our need with them. Have them help us. The time I feel best is when I am helping others. Maybe they have never felt that. Maybe they have always felt like they are the ones who need all the help. The ones who are so bad they could never help anyone. So lets break that cycle. Lets share our needs with those we feel are more needy. Let them help us. Give them a purpose.

The benefit is that we have our need filled. And we lift another. In a way they may have never thought possible. What better way to learn you can take care of yourself than to find out, you have taken care of another? The truth is, I have never tried this. Do I think it can work? I don’t know.

The purpose though, is a new idea. A way of thinking that opens other ways of thinking. And I’m pretty sure no one has ever thought of making those we consider most in need, in charge of our needs. In charge of fulfilling the wants of those of us who have. Those of us too good to let others in to fill our lives.

Because we do sometimes feel better than others. I do it. I have a nice house, a good job, and a wonderful woman. So how could I not be less needy than the man with a drug problem who stops by and lies about a false need to get money to fill his true want? Because quite simply. I’m not. I have my own set of needs. My own set of problems and lies. My own insecurities. Now if only I could really convince myself of that.

Ask Not What Your Neighborhood can do for You...

Well, after what seems like two very long weeks, we finally have everything moved into our new home in Hattiesburg and the largest part of the boxes have been emptied and the items put into the proper spaces... well... ok... at least the boxes are in the house. Moving to Hattiesburg has been a challenge not only due to the enormous amount of junk we seemed to have accumulated over the years, but also because I continue to work in Meridian... and on the coast... so I seem to be on the road all the time.

Moving into the downtown area of Hattiesburg has also created some challenges, liking figuring out where to put the children in school, how to pay for that, and not least of all which house to buy. We now own a fairly large 90 year old home with all the thrills that come with that. Can you say constant maintenance?

Someone might ask, "Why in the world would you go to so much trouble to live in the downtown area?" And this would be a fair question. To live downtown we have to pay more for auto insurance and home insurance, due to crime rates in our zip code. We felt we had to pay for the kids to go to a nearby Catholic school that was diverse racially and where they could get a good education. As mentioned already, we had to buy an old house (the house is awesome by the way... just more house than we have had before). And of course, our neighborhood has certain other interesting characteristics, like the neighbors who have already come in a little bit intoxicated at 2 am, making more than their fair share of noise. All of these things could have been avoided simply by choosing to live in a neighborhood away from downtown... perhaps in the suburbs, where public schools are good, insurance rates are low, crime is rare, and the homes are relatively new. So why go to the trouble and expense? Well, for me it is truly about ministry.

Eric Bryant discusses the idea of picking our neighborhoods for ministry in his book "Peppermint- Filled Piñatas." Eric writes that Christians too often pick where they will live just like everyone else, "choosing to live in places that provide the greatest safety and convenience or have the highest rated school districts. Then, as we have more income, we move out of our current locations so we can have even greater safety and convenience and even better school districts. This very natural way of living, sadly, has a way of circumventing the impact we can have in our neighborhoods. We end up looking at our neighborhoods for what we can get rather than seeing them as places where we can find opportunities to give and serve." Choosing our neighborhoods this way too often means that we stay in areas where everyone is like us, probably Christian, or at least in our same economic condition, and opportunities to be a witness to God's love are fewer. Eric writes, "We should think more like John F Kennedy thought: "Ask not what your neighborhood can do for you, but what you can do for your neighborhood."

Our new neighborhood has ample opportunity for service and simple Christian hospitality, and that is why we chose it. Now if we can just find a way to live into that choice...