I need to add another thought from a book first published in 1916, written by a man born in Syria to explain the light shed on the Bible by Near East customs and culture —
It is also customary for a gracious host to request as a happy ending to the feast that the contents of one cup be drunk by the whole company as a seal of their friendship with one another. Each guest takes a sip and passes the cup to the one next to him until all have partaken of the “fruit of the vine.”
I have no doubt that it was after this custom that the disciples drank when Jesus “took the cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave to them: and they all drank of it.”
No account of fraternal feasting in Syria can be complete without mention of the zikreh remembrance). To be remembered by his friends after his departure from them is one of the Syrian’s deepest and dearest desires.
The zikreh plays a very important part in the literature of the East, and expresses the tenderest spirit of its poetry. The expressions “I remember,” “remember me,” “your remembrance,” “the remembrance of those days” and like phrases are legion among the Syrians. …
Rarely do friends who have been feasting together part without this request being made by those of them who do not expect to meet with their friends again for a time. “Remember me when you meet again,” is said by the departing friend with unspeakable tenderness. He is affectionately grateful also when he knows that he is held in remembrance by his friends. …
This affectionate request, “remember me,” signifies, “I love you, therefore I am always with you.” If we love one another, we cannot be separated from one another. The zikreh is the bond of fraternity between us.
Was not this the very thing which the Master meant when he said , “This do in remembrance of me”?
Rihbany, Abraham (2012-07-18). The Syrian Christ: Son of The East
Church of Christ communion tables almost always bear the words, “This do in remembrance of me.” Notice that, just as Rihbany explains, the idea is not to remember Jesus’ death or resurrection. It’s to remember Jesus — a person and beloved friend.
That’s not to say we shouldn’t also remember his death and resurrection. Certainly we should because those events go a long way in defining who Jesus was and is. You can’t remember Jesus as a person and not remember what he did.
But you can remember what he did and have no notion of what it would mean to think of Jesus the person.
One of the failings of our communion tradition is the way we abstract and doctrinalize the event and give not the least thought to Jesus as a brother or friend. We hardly think of him as a person at all. Rather, we think of him only as a sacrifice and a well of forgiveness.
And yet, John says,
(Joh 17:3 ESV) And this is eternal life, that they know you the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.
(1Jo 5:20 ESV) And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know him who is true; and we are in him who is true, in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life.
If we would remember each Sunday that Jesus came, died, and was resurrected not merely to forgive our sins, and not merely so we’d be moral people, but also so that we’d become like him, then perhaps the focus of communion could shift more toward learning about Jesus so that we can emulate him.
(Eph 5:2 ESV) 2 And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.
(2Co 3:17-18 ESV) 17 Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. 18 And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.
In short, I am glad that we take communion weekly. And I endorse the efforts to put more into preparation for it so that communion is not humdrum. But I think our biggest problem is theological. Rather than merely dwelling on Jesus’ death, I think we should be instructed to dwell on him — so that we can become more like him.
This will require different sorts of communion meditations and perhaps even different sorts of classes to help our members to see Jesus as well as his teachings.
Finally, we need to fit into our understanding this verse —
(1Co 11:26 ESV) 26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.
This is not a command (as opposed to: “Thou shalt remember Jesus’ death.”). It doesn’t even speak of remembering. We should not blend this passage with “This do in remembrance of me,” to create the artificial command “This do in remembrance of my death.”
Rather, our taking the flesh and blood of our crucified Savior proclaims (declares, announces) Jesus’ death and its significance.
(One reason for the confusion about this verse is the ambiguous translation in the KJV:
(1Co 11:26 KJV) For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord’s death till he come.
I’m not sure that “shew” (“show”) has ever meant “proclaim,” which nearly every other translation uses here and was also used 43 times in the KJV.)
In Acts and Paul’s epistles, “proclaim” is routinely used of proclaiming the gospel. And so the Lord’s Supper becomes a means of re-teaching the gospel to the members and preaching the gospel to any visitors as the meaning of the elements are explained.
Of course, the good news is, you know, good news. I can’t see why we treat the Lord’s Supper like a funeral. Rather, if the good news of Jesus Christ is being proclaimed, the mood should be celebratory. He not only surrendered his flesh and blood for our good, he was resurrected. The story has a happy ending!
Actually, the story for us has a happy beginning, because our sins are forgiven at the outset of our walk with Jesus — all in order that we might be better prepared to be transformed into his image.[1]
When we see the Lord’s Supper as only about forgiveness, then we miss the bigger point. It’s about spiritual transformation, reminding us not only that our sins are forgiven, but that the path to forgiveness for Jesus was submission, service, sacrifice, and even suffering. And our path should be his path. To become like Jesus, we must become like him in these ways — not just forgiven but re-created in his image.
We eat his “body” and drink his “blood” so that we share in his death — not just death to sin but also death to selfishness and narcissism. And we are resurrected with Jesus, dead to this world and alive to gospel, salt and light, so we can enter into God’s mission to redeem the world.
We re-commit each week to carry a cross and to put Jesus first, even above families, and pay the price that must be paid to urge the lost to join in the Kingdom and to show the world God’s justice by caring for those in need as he does.
Communion is not about buying a week’s worth of grace. It’s about remembering that Jesus became worthy of a throne through sacrifice, service, submission, and even suffering. And our path to sitting with Jesus on the throne is the same (Eph 1:20-23; 2:6, read together, promise that we’ll share Jesus’ throne.).[2]
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[1] Although I’ve never heard this taught, many of us learned that the Lord’s Supper purchases another seven days of grace. We turn the receipt of a gift into a work to earn a week’s worth of salvation.
The false understanding is, I’m sure, one reason so many of our members will arrive late or leave early but always be there for communion. They see communion as essential to their good standing with God — which is not the point at all! It’s about grace, not trying to placate an angry god with an offering of bread and grape juice. And it’s about spiritual transformation of those present so that we can become more and more like Jesus.
Ironically enough, we’ve criticized the Catholic mass while acting as though, like the mass, the Lord’s Supper is a new sacrifice for forgiveness.
I almost don’t want to point this out for fear that our members will stop attending altogether! But what’s the point of encouraging attendance if the price is a works-based religion?
[2] And, no, this is not works salvation. Paul teaches that we are saved to do good works (Eph 2:10), as a consequence of our salvation. And many verses teach that are supposed to become like Jesus — as new creations. The Spirit does the heavy lifting in our transformation, but we can resist. Indeed, we really need to cooperate. You can think of it merely as submitting or yielding to the Spirit, but it’s still going to require some commitment and effort on our parts.
Or, equivalently, we are simply being true to the faith/faithfulness/trust with which we began — but maturing in faith as we go from our old selves to becoming more like Jesus.
(Col 1:28 ESV) 28 Him we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone mature in Christ.
Indeed, even faith requires effort. It can be really hard to believe. It can require great sacrifice and surrendering some of our most prized faults and weaknesses. And we shouldn’t fool each other into thinking this is easy and Jesus will do it all for us if only we’ll go to church and put Bible verses on our refrigerators with magnets.
This is why Paul not only teaches wisdom, he warns, because we shouldn’t be naïve about the cost of the Pearl of Great Price.
1. I wonder if it would shake things up to change the sign on the communion table to Remember Nadab and Abihu.. 🙂
2. From what i’ve witnessed, the whole “worship service” is gloom and doom in the most conservative churches.. Not much joy…It’s like “reverence” is most important and never to be violated… Dare one clap their hands to a song and out come the “stares.” If a teenager were to snicker during the communion…they’re busted for a month. Have a few deacons laugh during communion right before a sermon on “celebrating” the Lord’s Supper… might get you fired…
3. Enjoyed the comments on the Syrian customs immensely.. thanks for sharing that !!
For some Jesus is a means to an end not the end itself. They ignore his statements: “I AM the way”, “I AM the truth”, “I AM the light”, “I AM the bread of life”, “I AM the gate”, “I AM the resurrection”, “I AM the true vine”, …. Jesus did not start a church for us to be focused on the church. Jesus wasn’t a new Moses giving us a new set of Christian laws. Jesus should be the life and heartbeat of the church because he is our life. Communion ceremonies, baptism rituals, altar calls, etc… do not make the church alive.
I remember when our church in Ohio began a campus ministry that started to baptize about 100 students per year. The students never were taught the unwritten church rules on being quiet and somber. The older members hated our loud fellowship, hated the students staying a long time after service, hated their favorite seat being taken, and hated the enthusiasm. They eventually pushed the campus ministry out so that they could return to their nice, quiet, dead environment.
Dang, Skip. Sounds like you church in Ohio hated everything. Hope their bitterness and spirit of criticism didn’t rub off on everyone in your church.
I do wonder what you mean exactly by:
“Jesus did not start a church for us to be focused on the church.”
We should use our words carefully. Remember, the church is the body of Christ.
Jay,
Great thoughts, thank.
Count me as one blessed by the quote from Rihbany’s book. The other thing missing from our traditional observance is the “together” aspect of it all. We have been taught to observe the communion by first taking our eyes and thoughts OFF the people sitting around us. We gather and then act as if we are alone in the room. We do NOT interact with anyone. If a man hands us a tray, we cannot even say “Thank you”. We are not “together” in this time, any more than we are “together” with all the other people who are in the same traffic jam as we are. Once we found out we did not have to observe this curious habit, the communion became more an event of joyous gratitude than of grave solemnity. Now, when I share the communion with brothers who still go into the silent hermetically-sealed shells to observe this meal, I really do miss them. I want to say, “I really missed you guys while you were gone. Would have loved to actually share this with you.”
I very much appreciate Jay properly moving the focus of this remembrance from death to Jesus. It’s like the difference between a high-church funeral and a good Irish wake.
Jay, I think a lot of how we do the Communion together comes from our culture. For example we take moments of silence at ball games to remember some tragedy. We expect silence and proper shows of respect at times like during a wedding( even though it is a happy occasion) and of course at funerals, or at memorials(unknown soldier ceremony, 911 monument, Pearl Harbor memorial ceremony, etc. etc.) We as Americans have grown accustomed to showing deep respect through quiet reflective moments. It’s hard to change that mindset. It’s how we train our kids to behave at the above mentioned times. No snickering, no horseplay, be quiet, be still, and listen! I’m all for making it into a more joyous celebration, just a tall task.
At our church recently we were reminded that at the time of a loved ones death we often share stories and thoughts about the one who had died. Since Christ is not dead just not physically present with us, how much more should we share about him. We were encouraged to stand up greet the people standing near them and share something about how knowing Christ has blessed their life. After some hesitation they did so, in fact they had to be interrupted in order for the plates to be passed. I liked it, not sure everyone else did, but I sure did.
Johnny,
Of all the comments here, your was the most encouraging. I have long said that the members who tire of hearing Jesus preached week after week are missing the point. Do we tire of speaking about someone we love? Do we tire of hearing what someone we love did this past week? Do we tire of hearing about our favorite anything? How can we say we love Jesus and tire of hearing Him preached?
And as far as the ‘celebration’ of the Lord’s Supper, since when do celebrations require somber tones and hushed whispers? Who celebrates like that? I have been asking this for more than 40 years and have yet to see any real shift in practice. Is the question unintelligible? Is the Lord’s Supper a celebration and a proclamation or not?
I don’t get asked much to lead the Lord’s Supper observance. Go figure. Perhaps we are more like cultural lemmings than we want to admit. Hushed whispers are NO PART of celebration. Guilty self-reflections are NO PART of celebration. Shame for nailing Jesus to the cross with our sins has NO PART in celebration… nor in remembering Jesus or what He has done – on the cross or anywhere else.
Finally, Jay, I do not have the confidence you express in the Syrian custom. After all, Jesus never even traveled to Syria, nor was it Jewish custom to incorporate the customs of the nations around them into their own religious observances. At least I do not find such a record anywhere. This Syrian Christ book doesn’t change that. After all, do you incorporate the practices of your neighbors into your religious observances? I sincerely doubt you do, even if you are familiar with their customs, which is becoming more and more rare these days when we most people know more about their facebook ‘friends’ than they know in general about the people who live right next door. Think about it … write down the names of all the people who live on your block (substitute the people on your floor or down your hall of the apartment building you live in if you do not live in a single-family dwelling). Now write down the religious beliefs of each of those neighbors. Finally, write down all of their religious practices that you also are willing to practice and adopt as part of your relationship with Jesus when you assemble again with other believers. Get the point?
We are not all that different from the Jews of Jesus’ day who practiced a sort of religious apartheid and separatism from their neighbors. After all, we draw parallels to this kind of thing with the examples of Ezra and Nehemiah and also with the commands of God throughout the Bible to be a holy people gathered together by grace through faith before a most holy God.
Grizz
God’s ban on adopting the customs of the nations is qualified by the term “Abomination” and the most gruesome phrase “passing their sons through the fire”. Thus not all foreign customs are sinful. But only those that are barbarous, occultic, immoral, or superstitious(as if he could be manipulated).
Or otherwise violate his precepts and principles.
” This affectionate request, “remember me,” signifies, “I love you, therefore I am always with you.” If we love one another, we cannot be separated from one another. The zikreh is the bond of fraternity between us.
Was not this the very thing which the Master meant when he said , “This do in remembrance of me”? ”
Unless we understand this, we have little chance of understanding the following.
Mat 18:20 For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.
Jhn 14:20 At that day ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you.
Jhn 15:4 Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me. John 15:5 through 15:27
We should accept there is no way we live with the person of Jesus indwelling our being, we do live with the memory of Jesus and his teachings, so we never forget him, nor do we fail to give him his glory, through our love which he truly deserves. I don’t wait until Sunday to remember Jesus, I remember him at least every night when I pray to the Father, In Jesus’ name I pray.
The somber service should only be on Good Friday.
Hank, I am sure you know what I meant but I will explain. If we are fixated on the Church and lose connection with the head then the church inexorably drifts from the truth and inevitably we are no longer the bride. Capeche.
Yeah, its not good to lose connection with the head. That’s probably what happened at your church where everybody was full of hate and didn’t care about Jesus. Hope you weren’t with that church too long!
Hank, We left the church after numerous attempts to be unified and grow. It is a classic case of selecting unqualified elders who then wanted to preserve a nice, little, quiet, dead church. Growth takes prayer, struggle, stretching, serving, loving, etc… They weren’t up for change.
The conceopt of “proclaim” is closly related to the idea of preaching boy the messanger “(katangellw). That cannot be done in a vacuum or in silence. We “proclaim” to ourselves (examine oneself), to each other, to God, and to the wider community that Christ is our risen LORD.
Some in Corinth did a little “too much” celebrating,(couldn’t accuse them of being somber) if you know what I mean.
Grizz,
1. Matt 16:13 has Jesus traveling with his disciples to Caesarea Philippi — in Syria — where Peter uttered the Great Confession. He took another trip to Tyre and Sidon, in modern day Lebanon, requiring that the pass through Syria coming and going. http://www.bible.ca/maps/maps-ministry-of-jesus.htm
2. Jesus spoke Aramaic — from Aram, an ancient name for Syria. The Jews spoke the language of Syria — which surely meant a sharing of some of their culture — not their religion — but they surely adopted Aramaic for a reason. Why not Hebrew? Presumably because Aramaic was the language of their neighbors and major trading partners and had been imposed by Persia the international language for that part of the world. http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/1707-aramaic-language-among-the-jews
In short, it’s virtually certain that the Last Supper took place in Aramaic, because everyone present was a Galilean. Why use Greek — a second language? And Hebrew was the language of scholars — not the language of Galilean fishermen. Their native tongue was Aramaic.
And the book’s author gives us a sense of how that language was used and the social customs of the age. And it makes perfect sense and fits the context just fine. Why would we find his interpretation bothersome? Jesus is not remotely adopting a Syrian religious practice. Rather, he’s speaking as a native Aramaic speaker would speak, in the idiom of the day. It was evidently customary to ask to be remembered. Jesus takes that custom and uses it to ask his followers to remember him. Why not use the language familiar to his disciples to express what he wants?
Per Skip’s comments on growth and change, when one new person walks in the door, the church changes. Despite constant cries for growth, most of us just don’t want to change and there are many reasons why we don’t want to change.
Hence, the church and its mission to spread the good news is in a peculiar situation. The mission we want brings change we don’t want. If anyone has a way to resolve this, let me know. (Of course, the answer is that Jesus resolves it for us if we allow Him to.)
We have already have a plan in place. We appoint as apostles those who would embrace this mission and change… well, we send ’em out, anyway.