Opening
In the New Testament we should be struck by the utter ease that defined life in the first churches. We are given a wide image of church existence, but many particulars - which are annoying for us - are left unaffected by the New Testament. As time elapsed, the observable church lost its first simplicity and became enmeshed in a quagmire of ecclesiastical machines and theological speculation.
The Lord's Supper is a precedent. There's a simplicity about that ordinance in the sketchy New Testament data. Yet in post-apostolic times the remembrance meal became embedded in hierarchical church structures to ensure that it became a mysterious ritual to be "administered" by the "ordained," and ended up being the supply of endless speculation about "what happens" in the "sacrament."
Evidence suggests that this memorial meal, and the instruction which supported it, was a center point in Christian units (cf. Acts 20:7). Eating together in the "breaking of bread" and recalling God the Father in the Meal were nearly synonymous in Christian worship. Naturally, many things have changed in our practice considering from the start. In this essay, compare them with your ideas and techniques - and I would want to explore some fundamental factors concerning the Lord's Supper - based on 1 Corinthians 11:17-34.
The Historical Construction of the Supper
To start with, it will likely be beneficial to isolate the three fold historical construction which exists in the association of the Supper itself. Only by holding these three outlooks in proper equilibrium can we even hope to approach the Supper correctly.
1. Remember Yesteryear
In God's Supper we recall the past. The covenant that provides us the pardon of sins was ratified, or "cut," by the shed...
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...a fellowship meal. Rather, when we get a vision of the kind of fellowship and treatment which should characterize Christian assemblages, we are going to find the worth, benediction and sophistication of remembering the Lord together in a meal circumstance. Altering a sort cannot create life. Instead, energetic life provides with it a strong want to use those sorts that will maximize sophistication.
They could freely work out creative approaches to execute a remembrance meal that fulfills the requirements and specifics of the circumstances, as churches get ahold of New Testament principles. I really believe that lots of saints understand (painfully) in their hearts that there is something missing in the churches' practice of the Supper. May considered of the historical arrangement and environment of the Supper assist us in recovering the facts because it is in Jesus.
The meal, and more specifically the concept of the family meal, has traditional connotations of comfort and togetherness. As shown in three of Faulkner’s short stories in “The Country”, disruptions in the life of the family are often reinforced in the plot of the story by disruptions in the meal.
Attending a non-denominational church we start out with worship and being free to sing and dance and let our spirits take over. This may come out as someone running around the pews, or on their knees, but while in the Catholic Church the environment was much different. It was a lot more structured and formal in a sense than that of the non-denominational church where I practice my faith. Another difference was the offering, or as the Catholic Church calls it, the Gift. I am use to this concept, but rather than taking Gifts at the beginning of the service they take it at the end; then came communion. This is where you take part in eating the bread and drinking the wine in symbolism of Jesus’ body and blood. This I was also familiar with, but was informed by the couple that I went with that they partake in com...
In de-emphasizing the role of the Church, it’s rituals, and offices, and supplanting them with a more direct and personal approach to God and spirituality; the Protestant Reformation, through the works of Martin...
Thesis Statement: These key events reforming religion are what shaped the world for good and for bad in the 14th to the 19th century.
From the Catholic observation point, the Church presents two parts: One representing its divine nature as the untarnished body of Christ, and one direc...
Food is commonly mentioned throughout Old English and Medieval literature. In “Beowulf”, much of the action revolves around the mead hall where great banquets are held. In “Sir Gawain and the Green Knight”, the poem begins in the banquet hall and the Green knight first appears before King Arthur and his guests at a feast. Since most of the recipes which I used are from the 14th century I focused most of the literary aspect of my presentation on Geoffrey Chaucer’s “Canterbury Tales.” First of all the whole reason that the pilgrims tell their tales is because the inn keeper agrees to give the teller of the best story a free dinner at the end of the pilgrimage. Three characters, in particular, are described in the general prologue in relation to food, the nun or prioress, the franklin, and not surprisingly the cook.
More specifically, their traditions include the authority of Scripture and the Holy Spirit; salvation through conversion by the Spirit of God; believer’s baptism, usually by pouring or immersion; discipline in the church (including shunning in some congregations); and the Lord’s Supper as a memorial rather than as a sacrament or Christian rite (Third Way Cafe, 2014).
After accepting Suzy’s offer to dinner, Thomas and Victor sit down to watch cowboys vs. Indians on TV while Suzy serves them fry bread. Thomas tells Victor it’s almost as good as Arlene’s. Victor says that’s impossible and that his mother cooks the best fry bread in the world. Then Thomas starts to tell a story about how there was a huge feast on the reservation with over 100 Indians. They had deer meat and a lot of mashed potatoes and some fry bread. But Thomas goes on to say that the fry bread made all the difference in the world. And that “a good piece of fry bread turned any meal into a feast”. The problem was that there were only 50 pieces of fry bread. So Arlene ripped each piece in half to feed everyone. The story ends up being untrue but it shows just exactly how important fry bread is to this film. Suzy is able to relate to Thomas and Victor simply by feeding them fry bread and talking about it. It breaks down the tension between these strangers. Thomas’s story shows how important fry bread is among the people at the reservation. It can change a regular meal into a feast. The idea of feast seems so much grander than a meal, it means people coming together to celebrate. For Native Americans fry bread, a symbol of their culture, is reason enough to celebrate. They may have been persecuted for centuries, but they can hold onto their heritage through fry bread. The filmmakers make Thomas’s story especially memorable through lighting and framing. When Thomas is telling his story we are watching images of Arlene preparing the bread. At one point she holds the fry bread over her head to tear it. The image seems almost Christ like. During the last supper Jesus breaks bread in a similar way. The lights are directed towards the bread which makes it pop on screen. Arlene is standing at the head of the table and is perfectly centered in the shot. The combination of lighting and framing makes the fry bread
In Faithful Presence, David E. Fitch presents a response to his observation that church, for most people, has become disconnected from the lives of the people that attend them and the world they live in. The introduction to the book, that he calls titles, Searching for the Real Church, Fitch asks, “does the church have anything to offer the world full of injustice? Can the church reach out to the worlds around me in a way that doesn’t judge them, alienate them or ask them in some way to come to us?” (10). It is questions like these that this book attempts to answer.
A meal is sometimes not just a meal. Sometimes it hold deeper meaning. A meal could signify characters getting along or not.
Church History in Plain Language is written by Bruce L. Shelley. This work focuses on the history of Christianity from 6 B.C. to the current period. It covers some of Christianity’s greatest events, theologians, and the various subsection of Christianity. Other than the events leading up to the death of Jesus, I had very little knowledge of Christianity’s history. After reading through the book, I have gained understanding on the Christian Councils, scholasticism, Christendom, and modern trends of Christianity.
Within the Roman Catholic Church, there are many rituals that vary in terms of importance, frequency and world-wide standardization. The standardized rituals deemed most essential make up what
The Reformation was a decisive period in the history not only for the Catholic Church, but also for the entire world. The causes of this tumultuous point in history did not burst on the scene all at once, but slowly gained momentum like a boil that slowly festers through time before it finally bursts open. The Reformation of the Church was inevitable because of the abuses which the Church was suffering during this period. At the time of the Reformation, a segment of the Church had drifted away from its mission to bring Christ and salvation to the world. Throughout the Middle Ages, the Church had gradually become weaker because of abusive leadership, philosophical heresy, and a renewal of a form of the Pelagian heresy.
He discussed in depth about how Christological traditions emerged and developed over the decades (59). However, his focus leans towards the first five centuries of the church. As the church was beginning to grow the emergence of the canon was informing believers of the historical events of Jesus sacrifices. It was a wonderful era to study how the culture perceived the recently crucified Christ.
Not only do we indulge in this mouthwatering goodness for spiritual purposes we also celebrate special occasions such as weddings, big birthdays, Chinese New Years and other holidays with roasted pig. I couldn’t agree more when Wendall Berry said in The Pleasure of Eating,“ a memory involves itself with the food and is one of the pleasures of eating” (27). The food, taste, people, conversations are all together embedded in my head that comes back to me every time I reunite with a dish. We get flash backs to certain events in our lives as soon as we reunite with a familiar food. Aside from my mother and brothers, I don't see my family much but when we gather for dinner, it is a pleasant treat. We reconnect and catch up on what we have missed. It saddens me how less and less we see each other. As we grow up everyone becomes increasingly caught up with his or her busy schedule but that’s one of the things that makes it so memorable.