Words for Worship

Ministry Today

Early Church Communion

 

It is easy for us

to think

that holy communion

or the Eucharist

or the mass

was handed down to us

in a completely formed.  

 

But for this evening’s talk,

 I decided

to spend a little time

researching the original practices

of the Lord’s supper

in the earliest church.

 

That is the small,

fragile and often frightened

network of house groups

scattered across

the Roman empire

nearly 2000 years ago.

 

And in fact,

the earliest Lord’s suppers

were probably just that –

a meal together

in example of our Lord.

 

Now whilst the alpha course

uses eating together

as part of their formula

f0r inclusion

and bonding of its participants,

the church may not chosen

that as the only reason

for a meal together.

 

It might have been simply

an act of charity.  

 

Indeed, it seems

these early believers

brought along their evening meal

or spare food

and simply shared it out;

Shared it

just as our lord did

with his disciples

not in a ritualistic way

but in friendship

and common concern

for each other.  

 

However, in passing,

we can note that

not all of these early church meals

were as harmonious

as they could be.

 

For I remember, Ian Barclay –

one of my university lecturers saying –

there are complaints

still in the Latin literature

from someone

who got stuck beside

someone else’s smelly slaves –

a problem

we are less likely to have

in Broughty Ferry today.

 

However, before long a degree

of symbology set in –

maybe as the last

of the disciples passed away

and a specific act

of remembrance

became important.

 

For soon the bread

was seen

as the reminder of Christ’s body

broken for humanity

and the wine

his blood spilt

for his followers.

 

So too did the act of charity

become more formalised.

 

In fact the didache

of which

we will sing something of

at the end of our communion

on Sunday

stated that the faithful

were expected

to give a tenth of their produce

to the church’s clergy and poor.  

 

Such offerings would be made

at their meal gathering

as a sign of thanks giving.

 

So it gained the name

from the Greek

for thanksgiving –

eucharistia.

 

But in both

the offering of charity

and meal

purity was the watch word

and the unbaptised

were not allowed to offer.

 

 

It was therefore

in this two –fold way

the church advanced

on all fronts –

and became famous

and admired for

its brotherhood.

 

And that was for its charity

for the body

and salvation for the soul.  

 

Put another way

concern for each other

in the here and now

and in the here after.  

 

What better lesson

can then we take forward

with us

as we serve

the Lord’s Supper on Sunday.

 

The lesson indeed

of loving of one another

in the remembrance

of he who  loved first.

 

Amen