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.