Musings on the Daily Lectionary

Today's gospel contains Mark's account of "the Last Supper." This community meal became the centerpiece of Christian gatherings in the 1st century Church. I certainly had no appreciation for this fact growing us. I rarely saw what my tradition called "communion." We had communion four times a year. As a small child, it was both exotic and mysterious to me. The mysterious nature was compounded by the fact that I wasn't allowed to actually partipate in communion until I was middle school age.

Most Presbyterian churches celebrate the Lord's Supper more frequently nowadays, but I think we still struggle to recover any real sense of a community meal. Much of American, Protestant worship is highly personal and individualized. We gather with other people, but often we're still very much alone. It's similar to attending a movie or concert. Others are there, but we're not really there with them. Perhaps I'm overstating the situation a bit, but I think the analogy is appropriate.

In my childhood experience, church covered-dish suppers and picnics probably came a lot closer to the feel of 1st century Lord's Suppers than anything I experienced in worship. And I'm left to wonder why the congregations I've known find it easier to experience community outside of worship rather than in it.

When Jesus was about to leave his followers, he did not hold a class or preach a sermon. He gathered them together for a Passover meal, and this meal that celebrated God's salvation in the Exodus was reinterpreted to celebrate the new saving act of God in Christ. And I continue to wonder how we might better reclaim the community nature of friends and family gathered at table that is so integral to this celebration.

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