God commanded His people Israel to celebrate seven annual feasts that lasted up to seven days. These were festivals of dedication and rejoicing before the LORD for blessings He bestowed upon them. They were celebrations of community shalom in the LORD. They were prophetic signs commemorating God in their lives. The most reverent supper gathering was the annual Passover supper. It was patterned to bring to remembrance the Israelites’ common heritage in the Lord. Special focus was given to the reenactment of the first Passover supper as when He delivered them from Egyptian bondage. Bread was blessed, broken, and shared. A lamb was butchered, cooked and eaten. Godly one another communication thrived. Can’t you just see a bunch of joyful Jews conversing with all of their facial expressions and body gestures? It was rich fellowship. At the end of the supper, all stood and a thanksgiving toast was presented to the Lord. This feast merged with the Feast of Unleavened Bread, a celebration that went on for seven days. Israel rejoiced with one another before the LORD. There was participation. People learn by participating. In his book, Organic Leadership,[7] Neil Cole instructs how to mentor leaders. He recommends one-on-one training because it accommodates each pace of learning. Then he shares how people learn in different ways: Visual, Audio, Kinetic – Movement, Verbal feedback. God taught and reinforced His way with His people Israel in all of those ways. Sabbath, Feast and chaburah celebrations taught, commemorated and reinforced His way with His people through prophetic symbols and one another interaction. The Sabbath and the Feasts had been a shadow of the coming things. “Then nobody should say you are wrong in what you eat or drink or do on a festival, on the first of the month, or on a Sabbath. These have been a shadow of the coming things, but the real things are in Christ” (Colossians 2:16-17). They came. Jesus didn’t establish a new setting for the Lord’s Supper; He changed the Passover Feast of the Old Covenant into a Feast we call the Lord’s Supper and made it the prophetic sign of the New Covenant. Paul had to straighten up the church in Corinth about a man whose wickedness they tolerated in their midst. In his exhortation to them he refers to the celebration of agape calling it “our festival.” "It isn’t good for you to feel proud. Don’t you know a little yeast ferments the whole dough? Get rid of the old yeast in order to be a new dough, as you are really free from the old yeast, because our Passover Lamb was sacrificed; it is Christ. Let us, then, celebrate our festival, not with old yeast, not with any yeast of vice and wickedness, but with the sweet bread of purity and truth" (1 Corinthians 5:6-8). The focus of our festival is Messiah Jesus. He reveals the Father and brings us together in the oneness of the Spirit. Knowing Messiah Jesus and God the Father is eternal life (John 17:3). We come together before Jesus our Savior and King in this know relationship, looking forward to the Marriage Feast of the Lamb.
Thank you for the beautiful picture of what the Lords supper should be. In studying the old testament I have found such a richer picture and thus an understanding into what an amazing work Christ has done for us, and into the richness of this relationship, and into the relationships that we can now have with others through him. I loved where you said that the passover meal was "rich in fellowship"! How much more should the Lords supper be rich in fellowship? It is sad that the Lords supper has lost this richness over the centuries in much of the church. I think as house churchs we should strive to bring this back. In my own house church, although we don't celebrate the Lords supper often enough in my opinion, the times that we have have been rich in fellowship. Times of shared tears and joy around the dinner table where even the children share and participate with such tenderness.
BTW, I also live in Colorado. What part of CO are you from, and are you a part of a house church, or some sort of house/simple church network?
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