confessions of a church planter

I can’t believe I’m going to write this: I’m grateful for a class I took in seminary on the History of the Eucharist.  There I said it!  I’m done.  I didn’t realize it at the time, but 8 years later (man, I’m old), I’m grateful.  Not only am I grateful for that class, but recently for the work of Barna in a book called Pagan Christianity.  Both the class and book (among others) help people understanding the progression of how communion got to be in its current state.  What’s the current state?  Confusing.  So, I thought I’d share with you some quick thoughts about how communion has progressed to where it currently stands in some circles.

• First century Christians celebrated communion in the context of a celebratory meal at homes without clergy to officiate.
• By the late first century and early second century, Christians called the meal “love feasts.”
• In the late second century, the Lord’s Supper was moved from the context of a larger meal to an isolated event taking place exclusively on Sundays.  (Barna quotes sources stating that the reason is that the Christians/Church leaders did not want unbelievers profaning the Lord’s Supper, p.193.  I noted in my message yesterday, 10.25, that Paul clearly communicates that communion is an act of proclamation in 1 Corinthians 11:26.  Therefore, by it’s nature, it’s evangelistic!  Not to get too deep into the Wesleyan tradition, but JW claimed communion as a means of grace.)
• The Council of Carthage in 397 A.D. prohibited “love feasts” among Christians.
• The phrase “Lord’s Supper” almost completely disappeared and was almost always replaced with “Eucharist.”  BTW, “eucharist” is a derivative of a Greek word “eukaristos,” which means “grateful,” and is now commonly used to mean “thanksgiving.
• By the fourth and fifth centuries, communion was no longer joyful, no longer a community event, and no longer participatory of all.  Instead, it had been replace by awe and dread, an isolated Christian community, and a priest to officiate (Pagan Christianity, p194).
• From the third to the ninth century, the term sacred was used to describe the bread and cup rather than the act of taking the bread and cup.
• This progression gave rise to the notion of transubstantiation, which means that one substance changes into another substance, during the eleventh through thirteenth centuries.
• This notion was debated during the Protestant Reformation by Martin Luther.  At that time other explanations were developed such as consubstantiation, which is the real presence of Christ available in the bread and juice/wine.

So, there it is.  Short, sweet, and to the point (literally).  Like I said yesterday, remember it’s best to go to the source and our source is Scripture.  Furthermore, there’s no need to shed blood between people who disagree over communion’s meaning and methodology.  After all, communion is a celebration of the blood that was shed for all of humanity!