I’m continuing in the discussion of the Table, which we
celebrate in our gatherings of worship.
Last time I shared Myth #1: It’s my personal time with Jesus. Though well intentioned, Paul did not instruct
the Corinthians to observe a private introspection when eating the bread and
drinking the cup, but rather told them to consider their motives and
relationships within the community of Christians.
Myth #2: We take communion because Jesus commanded it.
Stay with me. Don’t
go into cardiac arrest. No doubt, we
observe the Table to be consistent with Jesus’ actions in the Upper Room and
other apostolic teachings. Jesus met
with His disciples, they established the Church, and the practice of the Table
has been diligently carried forward to us today. However, in the interest of faithful study,
let’s briefly examine what Jesus actually said, and the context in which He
said it.
None of us were there.
The Church wasn’t there. The
Church had not even begun. Jesus wasn’t
speaking directly to us. He was dining
with His closest circle of friends; an experience bathed in secrecy, featuring the
washing of feet as an appetizer and the accusation of a traitor for dessert. This was a peculiar supper indeed. And most notably, this was the Passover meal
– a meal in which the people of Israel actively and dynamically remembered the
salvation of God. It was in the midst of
this setting that Jesus told His small group, “Do this in remembrance of me.”
The key is found in the understanding of “remembrance.” Think of it this way… If you ask a man today
about his high school graduation he would tell you all the details of the day:
time, place, color of tassel, etc.
However, if you were to ask a man in the first-century to describe his high
school graduation, he would immediately jump out of his seat, run to the closet
and put on the cap and gown, reenacting the ceremony in front of you.
Jesus also told them, “This is My body.” Obviously, the disciples were not confused at
His statement, though centuries of Christians have debated His meaning. Jesus was sitting among them and they
comprehended that the bread was symbolic, yet at the same time something more
than a symbol alone. The meal’s symbolic
meaning is that He really and truly is with us even though He is not physically
with us any longer, and even more that He is with us as a gathered community.
That’s anamnesis – participatory and dynamic recollection. It’s a remembrance that is more than a post-enlightened
“just the facts” – something happened, someone did something, etc. While the mere data is important, it’s not
the whole story. You could say that the
Gospel story is greater than the sum of its parts.
Jesus’ desire for those men was not to have them gather once
a week in silence and sterility to cerebrally mourn his loss. He was engaging them in a life-giving,
dramatic ritual steeped in history and re-envisioned by His passion. That desire remains today.
Keep in mind that Jesus was instituting a practice to bring
to mind something that had not yet taken place! That’s miraculous enough. Add that this trust has been brought forward
in history to those of us who were non-existent at the time it happened, and
yet we “remember” it. Let us be found, not
checking off an agenda item, but dynamically participating in the mystery of
the Gospel story.
I’ve written a brief survey based on the biblical concepts
of the Table. If you haven’t already
done so, check it out: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/radecki_table_survey
No comments:
Post a Comment