thoughts on Church

I went to Church this morning. I actually tried out a different Church and I went to their Young Adults Sunday School. (I think they call it Wisdom Ways).

The whole thing was very intriguing as we wrestled with Paul in his first letter to the Corinthians. We looked at the passage where he talks about the Lord's Supper. Before Constantine "popularized" Christianity in the 4th century the Lord's Supper was an actual supper. It was a meal that the Christians shared. It became ritualized into the Eucharist as the Church grew during the 3rd and 4th centuries. This letter was probably written in the 1st century. Therefore the letter is talking about how to share a real meal, but it is also talking about how to share the Lord's Supper. Paul is exhorting the young Christians to share and think about others before they consume all the food to satiate their hunger. Greed, which this clearly could be about, was never a topic. Instead we discussed the idea of hospitality. How do we demonstrate radical hospitality? How do think and plan so that we have food to share with people that are hungry?

I also volunteer at this Church, which serves a meal to the homeless six days a week. Talking about eating without class division was something that hit very close to home. Although I serve breakfast once a week there, I NEVER eat breakfast with the ladies I serve. I don't do this because I have the means to provide breakfast for myself, so if I ate their food I would feel guilty. However, this separation is just that, a separation. Am I being generous and giving by not eating with these ladies? Or am I being snobby because I am choosing to eat better quality food on my own time and dime?

Paul says we are to eliminate divisions when we eat the Lord's Supper. Is he talking about all meals shared among Christians? Or is he talking about the Eucharist? What would that look like in our own lives? In our own Churches?

I originally intended to write about one quote from my class this morning, so I'll leave that as a closing thought, although it's unrelated.

"Church was not created for God, but for us."