So does your network believe in “the Lord’s Supper” being separate from the regular meal? Or do you think Jesus wasn’t meaning to instate a new ritual?
I think of it this way... the entire meal together is the Lord's supper. The early church bookended the meal beginning with the bread and ending with the cup, and they had a formulaic statment they used when they gathered for the meal that went something like this...
This bread is like my body, which is broken to make you whole (new community)
This cup is like my blood, which is spilled out to give you new life (new orientation & priorities)
Every time you gather and eat this meal, it is a visible proclamation of the gospel until Jesus returns and makes all things new
We would say that Jesus wasn’t instituting a ritual, He was establishing a new family and that in each city, those in His new family would gather weekly for a family meal, and as they gathered and ate that meal together and served one another, particularly looking out for any with lesser circumstances, they were acting out the gospel. Acting out a visual sign that Jesus had become King and established a new family that would live right now as though Jesus is King, even though He won’t take the throne until He returns. And as they worked hard at building relationships with everyone around them, outsiders would come to love Jesus because they would see how well His family loved one another.
So does your network believe in “the Lord’s Supper” being separate from the regular meal? Or do you think Jesus wasn’t meaning to instate a new ritual?
I think of it this way... the entire meal together is the Lord's supper. The early church bookended the meal beginning with the bread and ending with the cup, and they had a formulaic statment they used when they gathered for the meal that went something like this...
This bread is like my body, which is broken to make you whole (new community)
This cup is like my blood, which is spilled out to give you new life (new orientation & priorities)
Every time you gather and eat this meal, it is a visible proclamation of the gospel until Jesus returns and makes all things new
We would say that Jesus wasn’t instituting a ritual, He was establishing a new family and that in each city, those in His new family would gather weekly for a family meal, and as they gathered and ate that meal together and served one another, particularly looking out for any with lesser circumstances, they were acting out the gospel. Acting out a visual sign that Jesus had become King and established a new family that would live right now as though Jesus is King, even though He won’t take the throne until He returns. And as they worked hard at building relationships with everyone around them, outsiders would come to love Jesus because they would see how well His family loved one another.