I just can’t help it… There are some discussions among friends about communion, and I’ve got to throw in my two chips worth of ideas. Except its more than two chips… its more like a hundred chips, so I’ve got to reply with blog posts instead of blog comments. You can check out their thoughts on their blogs (if you’d like to know what inspired me to write my own posts) but it won’t be necessary (see their blogs here and here). I intend to be pretty thorough.
Firstly, I don’t have anything particularly interesting to add to the discussion about communion that originated with my own thoughts. I have been reading some interesting books on common meals and communal-ism (not “communism”) that I think offer interesting perspectives on first century Christian practice, and I’ll share some of those authors’ thoughts and proposals. I do, however, think that Angela and I have some contemporary experiences related to “table-sharing” that shape our understanding of the sociological effects of meal sharing practices (some of which are expressed in the practices of the early church). I’ll share our meal-sharing experiences as it seems appropriate to the discussion, but I don’t assume our experiences should be normative for all churches or all faithful Christians.
Secondly, I think it could be helpful to define some terms that can be shared in this discussion (hence ‘communion of terms’). There are a number of related words used in the Bible to describe the sharing of resources and the sharing of meals. Here ya go, some definitions of terms as I understand them:
“agape meal” - the love feast spoken of as a full meal which was practiced regularly by some early Christian communities and which was associated with the Eucharist.
“Eucharist” - the practice of “giving thanks” for bread (and wine when it was afforded or available) which is done in solemn remembrance of the death of Jesus. This is commonly referred to in some circles as “communion”. I don’t know that those two words are interchangeable but they are frequently used as if there were so.
“breaking of bread” - a traditional Jewish ritual for commencing meals. It can be observed in the Gospels and in Acts. This tradition carried over into first century Christian practice. It was an “ordinary meal” with a sacred flavor, as were all Jewish meals.
”commensality” and “table fellowship” - sharing a meal, eating together. Not really a theologically technical term, but I think I use it that way sometimes to refer to the common, daily practice of sharing meals with others. I also tend to assume that Christ is present at these common meals. I use these words with a “breaking of bread” sort of mentality. They also help us recall the common meal practices of Jesus which was a demonstration of social inclusiveness, friendship, intimacy, and unity.
“community of goods” - the radical sharing of private resources (maybe in a common purse) as if they were available to the public community. The most frequently used and familiar example of the practice a community of goods in church is found in Acts 2. Many have argued that the Acts 2 church is “ideal” but unattainable… I intend to address this in a blog post. I think there is at least some level of a community of goods available to be experienced by families in churches and neighborhoods. Another example of this practice can be found in monastic communities.
Lastly, I’d appreciate your input. I don’t think that it is a coincidence that this topic has come up among friends. I’ve been experimenting with these issues in community with our neighbors for a couple of years, and I have been struggling to articulate the place of common meals in the fellowship of believers and the appropriateness of inclusion of uncommitted seekers in this kind of meal-sharing experience. I’ve been thinking about this first for my family (as a neighborhood ’outpost’ of the Kingdom of God on earth) and second for my local church family (where we seem to be struggling to permeate our local community with the message of God’s reign in the world). My hunch is that the meal-time represents an opportunity for Christian communities (of many sizes) to live out the grace-based inclusion and radical love that Jesus demonstrated. At a shared table, where we share the same food, the social boundaries of race, class, and gender dissolve into a shared understanding of who “we” are together.