In the Lord's Table we find the meaning of life
Christian history has been marked by much church conflict over the meaning and message of the Lord’s Table. And for good reason. For most of the last two millennia, the Table has been the centerpiece of Christian worship. One need look no further than the Catholic Mass and Eastern Orthodox Eucharist to get a sense of the centrality of the Table in the oldest of Christian worship traditions. In fact, it is the Mass, what it does and does not do, that was at the heart of the Reformation. Even in the wake of the Reformers recapturing the gospel from the idolatrous Mass, the Reformers themselves could not agree on what transpires or doesn’t transpire during the Lord’s Table. The two main branches of Christianity that flow out of the Reformation, one from Calvin and one from Luther, are separated precisely because Calvin and Luther could not reconcile their views on the Table.
But we live in a day in which the contemporary evangelicalism that gives us our historical context largely ignores the centrality of the Table, if not ignores the Table altogether. Not far from here, grape juice and crackers are served from hubcaps in the foyer as the church attendees leave the building. One prominent evangelical leader has bragged on Christian radio about serving the table with potato chips and coke on the beach. So neglected is the Lord’s Table, one of the fastest growing churches in the United States is the Eastern Orthodox church. Those fueling the renewed interest in the expansion of the Orthodox Church here in the U.S. are coming from the evangelical ranks. Evangelical young people are finding meaning in the Orthodox Eucharist, their version of the Lord’s Table.
There are many reasons why the Table has fallen into disuse, but it is not my intent to pursue that question. But we must conclude that the Table has indeed fallen into disuse if not disrepair and that this is not a good thing. There has been a catastrophic neglect of the Lord’s Table. It has been misunderstood, misrepresented, and misinterpreted by much of evangelicalism. Those looking for meaning in the Table have not found it in our churches, and they look to the Orthodox Eucharist and the Catholic Mass for meaning. The problem of course, is that they are trading the truth, even in its neglect, for an error that has eternal consequences. When that happens, our neglect and disuse of the Lord’s Table may be complicit in the consequences.
What is the meaning of the Lord's Table? In 1 Corinthians 10:16, 17 Paul says the Table is participation in Christ's blood and his body, his crucifixion. The Table represents the Corinthians' union to Christ and his death. Just as the Israelites in the Old Testament ate food from Christ and drank water from Christ (1 Corinthians 10:3,4), so too the Corinthians are eating bread and drinking wine from Christ.
In bringing Israel’s history to bear on the Corinthians, Paul is telling the Corinthians something about the Lord’s Table. No longer is there manna. No longer is there water from the Rock. Christ is their manna. Christ is their water. When they eat of the bread and drink of the cup, they are eating and drinking spiritual food and spiritual drink from Christ, just as the Israelites had done in the Old Testament. Christ is the source of all spiritual blessings represented at the Corinthians banquet in the wilderness. They are to find their sustenance and satisfaction in Christ, and over against Christ and the feeding he offers at His Table, the pagan festivals (1 Cor. 10:19,20) should pale in comparison.
The Table proclaims, “when Christ died, the Corinthians died”. Those pagan feasts are something to which the Corinthians have died. To be united to Christ is to reject the idols. Further, when they participate in the blood and body of Christ at the Table, they are participating together in the benefits of Christ’s death, resurrection, and ascension, which are encapsulated in the gospel proclamation of the Table. The Corinthians have an interest in and a share in death of Christ through the cup and through the bread. For the Corinthians, there is a very real fellowship with Christ at their Table. That cup that is the New Covenant has been applied on the Corinthians behalf and when they come to the Table Christ proclaims His blood as their atonement sacrifice. This cannot be compatible with the eating and drinking at the pagan festivals.
Not only does the Table unite the Corinthians to Christ and his death, the Table unites the Corinthians to each other. 1 Corinthians 10:17 tells us, “because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all partake of the one bread”. These are echoes of Paul’s statements elsewhere about the body having many members, yet one body. Here in 1 Corinthians 10, Paul places the unity in the context of the Lord’s Table. For the Corinthians to share in the bread is for them to share in each other. Just as Christ on their behalf has been broken, so in the sharing of this broken bread the Corinthians are to be broken for each other. The Lord’s Table unifies God’s people, creating a bond through union with Christ.Just as Christ broke the bread and gave it to His disciples, so also the bread is broken at the table and fed to His people. Through the Table the church, collectively, feeds on Christ. It is an outward manifestation of the inner satisfaction in Christ, who is the church’s sustenance.
In participating in Christ's death through the cup and the bread, the Lord's Table places us not only in Israel’s story, through the Passover backdrop of the Table, but the Table places us in Christ’s story. Christ’s story is our story. When Christ died, we died. When Christ arose, we arose. This Table for us is a celebration of the New Creation born of Christ’s resurrection. It points forward to a day when that story will continue and have its final consummation in the Marriage Supper of the Lamb. But we are not there yet. While we wait for Christ to return for His bride, we proclaim His atonement sacrifice on our behalf through The Lord’s Table.
Christ feeds us in the proclamation of the Lord’s Table. It is in the Table that Christ sustains His people. The physical manna and drink were supposed to point Israel to the spiritual backdrop of those blessings and they missed it. Let’s not miss it. Christ is our rock from whom we drink. To feed on the bread and to drink from the cup is to feed on Christ and to drink from him. It is by faith that we rest in God’s provision of His Son on our behalf. When we come to the Table, we cannot add one iota to the Lord’s Table and its significance. The meaning of the Lord’s table is not subjective, but objective. It is in Christ that we find all of our spiritual blessings, including salvation. The Lord’s Table represents all that we have in Christ and our eating of the bread and drinking of the wine is our visible manifestation of those spiritual blessings. These are the heavenly blessings, brought forward from eternity as a taste of what is to come. The Lord’s Table is our banquet in the wilderness, even as we await the arrival of our Passover Lamb.
The Lord’s Table is also an antidote to the health, wealth, and prosperity idol that so tempts the church. No, we don’t have pagan temples with fine dining at the altar of a false god. But we do have our idols. And we have our altars. There is a consistent drumbeat for the church to prostitute its worship on the altar of relevance and cultural compatibility. There are alternative philosophies and proven methods of success vying for the attention and loyalty of the gathered assembly. And when we come to the Table, we eschew that kind of worldly and idolatrous thinking. We say “no, all we need is Christ and the proclamation of His Word for our sustenance and satisfaction.”
And the meaning of the end of the ages is explained in the Lord’s Table. It is in the Table that the gathered church finds Christ invading time and space to meet with and feed his people. Even as we hear Christ proclaimed from the pulpit, we hear Christ proclaimed in the Lord’s Table. We share the very same end of the ages as the Corinthians. What Christ proclaims to them in the table is the same thing He proclaims to us. Christ’s death and resurrection has ushered in the New Creation. Time itself has its conclusion in Christ’s death, resurrection and ascension. And in the Table we have the New Creation in miniature as it proclaims Christ’s death, resurrection, and ascension.
I’ve just come from a Bible conference in Orlando, the annual Ligonier Ministries national conference. The theme for this year’s Ligonier conference was “Contending for the Truth” set in the context of answering the postmodern worldview of our culture. And inherent to any philosophical consideration of postmodernity and its incipient relativism, or any other worldview for that matter, is the question: what is the meaning of life? Even as I contemplated the theme for the conference, it dawned on me that young postmoderns are finding meaning in the Orthodox Eucharist and the Catholic Mass because, despite their grievous errors and heretical views on the Table, these historic churches rightly understand that central to the Table and its symbols is the meaning of life itself. The Eucharist is still central to their worship, albeit a false worship. There is an understanding that all of the answers to life can be found in the Eucharist. And so we have evangelical young people flocking to find meaning in the Orthodox Eucharist, a Eucharist that is false.
Certainly we in the Protestant and Reformed tradition deny the legitimacy of those Tables, but do we understand that the meaning of life can be found in The Lord’s Table? In the Table we find the meaning of life proclaimed to us in Christ’s death, resurrection, and ascension. Christ, the only hope for mankind, is to be found in The Lord’s Table. In the Table, Christ presents himself to His people as their atoning sacrifice, a life exchanged for a life, offering forgiveness of sins, satisfaction of God’s wrath, and eternal life most abundant to those who come to Him by faith. All of life’s answers are ultimately found in the Christ of the Table. It is here, in the picture Christ has given us of what he has done for us on our behalf, that mankind’s history is explained, even as Christ’s death is proclaimed.
That Proclamation of Christ's death in the table is an objective proclamation, not a subjective experience. What the young postmoderns fail to realize, in searching for meaning in the wrong places, is that the meaning of life that they think they find in their Eucharist isn’t what they bring to it. They cannot add one iota to the Table. The Table and its meaning are not mystically subjective. The meaning of life to be found in The Table is what is done to us by Christ on our behalf in his death, resurrection, and ascension for His own glory. -- crb; "Banquet in the Wilderness: The Lord's Table", mp3
But we live in a day in which the contemporary evangelicalism that gives us our historical context largely ignores the centrality of the Table, if not ignores the Table altogether. Not far from here, grape juice and crackers are served from hubcaps in the foyer as the church attendees leave the building. One prominent evangelical leader has bragged on Christian radio about serving the table with potato chips and coke on the beach. So neglected is the Lord’s Table, one of the fastest growing churches in the United States is the Eastern Orthodox church. Those fueling the renewed interest in the expansion of the Orthodox Church here in the U.S. are coming from the evangelical ranks. Evangelical young people are finding meaning in the Orthodox Eucharist, their version of the Lord’s Table.
There are many reasons why the Table has fallen into disuse, but it is not my intent to pursue that question. But we must conclude that the Table has indeed fallen into disuse if not disrepair and that this is not a good thing. There has been a catastrophic neglect of the Lord’s Table. It has been misunderstood, misrepresented, and misinterpreted by much of evangelicalism. Those looking for meaning in the Table have not found it in our churches, and they look to the Orthodox Eucharist and the Catholic Mass for meaning. The problem of course, is that they are trading the truth, even in its neglect, for an error that has eternal consequences. When that happens, our neglect and disuse of the Lord’s Table may be complicit in the consequences.
What is the meaning of the Lord's Table? In 1 Corinthians 10:16, 17 Paul says the Table is participation in Christ's blood and his body, his crucifixion. The Table represents the Corinthians' union to Christ and his death. Just as the Israelites in the Old Testament ate food from Christ and drank water from Christ (1 Corinthians 10:3,4), so too the Corinthians are eating bread and drinking wine from Christ.
In bringing Israel’s history to bear on the Corinthians, Paul is telling the Corinthians something about the Lord’s Table. No longer is there manna. No longer is there water from the Rock. Christ is their manna. Christ is their water. When they eat of the bread and drink of the cup, they are eating and drinking spiritual food and spiritual drink from Christ, just as the Israelites had done in the Old Testament. Christ is the source of all spiritual blessings represented at the Corinthians banquet in the wilderness. They are to find their sustenance and satisfaction in Christ, and over against Christ and the feeding he offers at His Table, the pagan festivals (1 Cor. 10:19,20) should pale in comparison.
The Table proclaims, “when Christ died, the Corinthians died”. Those pagan feasts are something to which the Corinthians have died. To be united to Christ is to reject the idols. Further, when they participate in the blood and body of Christ at the Table, they are participating together in the benefits of Christ’s death, resurrection, and ascension, which are encapsulated in the gospel proclamation of the Table. The Corinthians have an interest in and a share in death of Christ through the cup and through the bread. For the Corinthians, there is a very real fellowship with Christ at their Table. That cup that is the New Covenant has been applied on the Corinthians behalf and when they come to the Table Christ proclaims His blood as their atonement sacrifice. This cannot be compatible with the eating and drinking at the pagan festivals.
Not only does the Table unite the Corinthians to Christ and his death, the Table unites the Corinthians to each other. 1 Corinthians 10:17 tells us, “because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all partake of the one bread”. These are echoes of Paul’s statements elsewhere about the body having many members, yet one body. Here in 1 Corinthians 10, Paul places the unity in the context of the Lord’s Table. For the Corinthians to share in the bread is for them to share in each other. Just as Christ on their behalf has been broken, so in the sharing of this broken bread the Corinthians are to be broken for each other. The Lord’s Table unifies God’s people, creating a bond through union with Christ.Just as Christ broke the bread and gave it to His disciples, so also the bread is broken at the table and fed to His people. Through the Table the church, collectively, feeds on Christ. It is an outward manifestation of the inner satisfaction in Christ, who is the church’s sustenance.
In participating in Christ's death through the cup and the bread, the Lord's Table places us not only in Israel’s story, through the Passover backdrop of the Table, but the Table places us in Christ’s story. Christ’s story is our story. When Christ died, we died. When Christ arose, we arose. This Table for us is a celebration of the New Creation born of Christ’s resurrection. It points forward to a day when that story will continue and have its final consummation in the Marriage Supper of the Lamb. But we are not there yet. While we wait for Christ to return for His bride, we proclaim His atonement sacrifice on our behalf through The Lord’s Table.
Christ feeds us in the proclamation of the Lord’s Table. It is in the Table that Christ sustains His people. The physical manna and drink were supposed to point Israel to the spiritual backdrop of those blessings and they missed it. Let’s not miss it. Christ is our rock from whom we drink. To feed on the bread and to drink from the cup is to feed on Christ and to drink from him. It is by faith that we rest in God’s provision of His Son on our behalf. When we come to the Table, we cannot add one iota to the Lord’s Table and its significance. The meaning of the Lord’s table is not subjective, but objective. It is in Christ that we find all of our spiritual blessings, including salvation. The Lord’s Table represents all that we have in Christ and our eating of the bread and drinking of the wine is our visible manifestation of those spiritual blessings. These are the heavenly blessings, brought forward from eternity as a taste of what is to come. The Lord’s Table is our banquet in the wilderness, even as we await the arrival of our Passover Lamb.
The Lord’s Table is also an antidote to the health, wealth, and prosperity idol that so tempts the church. No, we don’t have pagan temples with fine dining at the altar of a false god. But we do have our idols. And we have our altars. There is a consistent drumbeat for the church to prostitute its worship on the altar of relevance and cultural compatibility. There are alternative philosophies and proven methods of success vying for the attention and loyalty of the gathered assembly. And when we come to the Table, we eschew that kind of worldly and idolatrous thinking. We say “no, all we need is Christ and the proclamation of His Word for our sustenance and satisfaction.”
And the meaning of the end of the ages is explained in the Lord’s Table. It is in the Table that the gathered church finds Christ invading time and space to meet with and feed his people. Even as we hear Christ proclaimed from the pulpit, we hear Christ proclaimed in the Lord’s Table. We share the very same end of the ages as the Corinthians. What Christ proclaims to them in the table is the same thing He proclaims to us. Christ’s death and resurrection has ushered in the New Creation. Time itself has its conclusion in Christ’s death, resurrection and ascension. And in the Table we have the New Creation in miniature as it proclaims Christ’s death, resurrection, and ascension.
I’ve just come from a Bible conference in Orlando, the annual Ligonier Ministries national conference. The theme for this year’s Ligonier conference was “Contending for the Truth” set in the context of answering the postmodern worldview of our culture. And inherent to any philosophical consideration of postmodernity and its incipient relativism, or any other worldview for that matter, is the question: what is the meaning of life? Even as I contemplated the theme for the conference, it dawned on me that young postmoderns are finding meaning in the Orthodox Eucharist and the Catholic Mass because, despite their grievous errors and heretical views on the Table, these historic churches rightly understand that central to the Table and its symbols is the meaning of life itself. The Eucharist is still central to their worship, albeit a false worship. There is an understanding that all of the answers to life can be found in the Eucharist. And so we have evangelical young people flocking to find meaning in the Orthodox Eucharist, a Eucharist that is false.
Certainly we in the Protestant and Reformed tradition deny the legitimacy of those Tables, but do we understand that the meaning of life can be found in The Lord’s Table? In the Table we find the meaning of life proclaimed to us in Christ’s death, resurrection, and ascension. Christ, the only hope for mankind, is to be found in The Lord’s Table. In the Table, Christ presents himself to His people as their atoning sacrifice, a life exchanged for a life, offering forgiveness of sins, satisfaction of God’s wrath, and eternal life most abundant to those who come to Him by faith. All of life’s answers are ultimately found in the Christ of the Table. It is here, in the picture Christ has given us of what he has done for us on our behalf, that mankind’s history is explained, even as Christ’s death is proclaimed.
That Proclamation of Christ's death in the table is an objective proclamation, not a subjective experience. What the young postmoderns fail to realize, in searching for meaning in the wrong places, is that the meaning of life that they think they find in their Eucharist isn’t what they bring to it. They cannot add one iota to the Table. The Table and its meaning are not mystically subjective. The meaning of life to be found in The Table is what is done to us by Christ on our behalf in his death, resurrection, and ascension for His own glory. -- crb; "Banquet in the Wilderness: The Lord's Table", mp3
posted by Chad Richard Bresson at 3/22/2007 08:48:00 PM
2 Participation
