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Tuesday, September 27, 2005

Conclusion
The common meal was a central part of the gatherings in the early church. Luke's references to the breaking of bread, even without explicit references to the bread and the cup, seem to correlate with Paul's references to 'the Lord's Supper' in Corinthians and the evidence of the celebration of 'love feasts' in Jude and later church fathers. The common meal, celebrated from house to house and 'on the first day of the week', served as a time of joyful thanksgiving to God for their new life in Christ.

The meal stood in a direct contrast to other banquets that were held in the surrounding culture, and provided additional framework for the theological significance of the meal. The church was to see the Lord as the host of the meal, as opposed to an idol, or any of individuals amongst them, hence the way that the meal was practiced should reflect what it means to be God's people. The meal had a didactic and enacting function - the way it was administrated reflected the reality that it was celebrating. Hence abuses of people, mainly through self interest, at the meal were abuses against the Lord, as the host, and now also the body represented by the people there. Further, the Lord is the sacrifice that the participants are sharing in and sharing the benefits of, and forms the basis for the fellowship together and with Christ. The breaking of the bread and the sharing of the cup were significant aspects of the meal, that caused this to be a reality.

In relating the meal to the meals of Jesus both pre and post his resurrection, the meal is rooted in their understanding of Jesus. In the words of institution the meal retained a sense of the Jewish Passover, and functioned in a similar manner, as "remembrance through reenactment". The meal had more meaning than a fellowship tea. In the participation of the meal in the presence of Jesus, they were formed as the new people of God, under a new covenant in their Lord, Jesus. This corporate identity is the primary focus, with individual interests perverting the very act that should reinforce their corporate identity, as it forms community identity and behaviour through remembering and response to the new covenant.

The joyful sharing of a full meal was not 'remembrance' in the sense of a thanksgiving service after a funeral. It was the celebration of sharing a meal with the risen Lord, as his body, benefiting from the action of his sacrificial death and anticipating the great end-time Banquet that will take place when He returns.