Can We Take Holy Communion Online?: Pt. 2 (History)

This post is a continuation of a discussion started here and concluded here.  In short, I believe the answer to the title question deals with community, history, and mystery.


HISTORY


Most of our conceptions of how Holy Communion/The Lord's Supper/Eucharist should be observed are based on tradition.  Now, tradition isn't necessarily a problem, but we should take it into account in wondering about this question of online communion. When we strip away tradition, how was it practiced originally? According to Luke 22 and I Corinthians 11:

• It was held in someone's home, not a religious space
• There is no distinction in who could lead it
• It was done during and after a larger meal
• The cup was given before and after the bread
• It wasn't done one person at a time, but collectively

To some today, observing Holy Communion without an ordained minister or as part of a larger meal would seem like blasphemy.  Yet when we read, we find it's completely consistent with scripture.  Renowned New Testament scholar and Dean of the Duke Divinity School, Richard B. Hays, says we have to keep in mind these "historical circumstances" when reading about the Lord's Supper - "Christians accustomed to experiencing the Lord's Supper only as a ritual 'in church', removed from a meal setting, will need to discipline their imaginations to keep this original setting in mind."*



A part of the issue then in reading and practice is that we often see tradition as the beginning of a practice, when tradition is really the ritualized development of an historical practice over time. There has constantly been changes in the way Holy Communion has been observed.  It wasn't always done by intinction (dipping the bread in a common cup), wearing white gloves (something we Black Baptists do), or with a gluten-free option (just heard of this last week - wow!).  Instead, it has been a continuation of faithfully observing the sacrament while making contemporary considerations...


If Jesus and His apostles witnessed how we observe Holy Communion would they recognize it?  Would they consider it faithful?  Somehow we believe they would make room for our adjustments - can't we make room for others?  Interesting...mysterious even...




Lord, thank You for the witness of history. Please allow us to remain faithful to You as we enter new spaces of worship and obedience.  Help us to be wise and harmless.  We trust You Holy Spirit and listen to be led by You.  Please guide our hearts and minds.  In Christ Jesus.  Amen.  



Pushing,
j.a.g.






*Richard Hays.  First Corinthians: Interpretation: A Bible Commentary in Teaching and Preaching. (Louisville: John Knox Press, 1997), 193.

S/O to Dr. Brittany Wilson and my classmates in NT Bodies for great feedback last week and for suggesting we read Dean Hays' chapter on this topic.  See pp. 193-206 of that text for more.  

Can We Take Holy Communion Online?: Pt. 1 (Community)

Last month, I received an interesting message from a good friend of mine, Dr. Fredara Hadley (who I affectionately call Dr. Free).  She asked what were my thoughts on having a virtual communion.  That is, having the Lord's Supper/Holy Communion/Eucharist via webcam with others.  My first thought was curiosity spiked with wonder, "Whoa, I don't know!"  

My next reaction was a slight twinge.  "Is taking Holy Communion online even legitimate?"  This certainly didn't sound like the communion I grew up knowing.  For better (and sometimes worse), studying the church and the seriousness of the sacraments makes you real sensitive and deathly afraid of committing heresy.  So when I heard this question, I knew I needed a solid theological grounding to answer it.

I offer the following posts as a theological framework for the position I came to.  In short, I see this as a three part conversation between ideas of community, history, and mystery.  (Click the word to look ahead to pts 2-3) I hope these thoughts and the initial question can spark discussion on Holy Communion and it's continued significance in an ever-changing world.  Oh, and thank you my friend, Dr. Free, for your awesome inquiry.  

---     ---     ---     ---     ---

As we think about this, let's consider the words of Christ in Luke 22:14-20 - 

14 When the hour came, he [Jesus] took his place at the table, and the apostles with him. 15 He said to them, "I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer; 16 for I tell you, I will not eat it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God." 17 Then he took a cup, and after giving thanks he said, "Take this and divide it among yourselves; 18 for I tell you that from now on I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes." 19 Then he took a loaf of bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, "This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me." 20 And he did the same with the cup after supper, saying, "This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood. 



COMMUNITY


After reading this passage, it became evident that the primary concern in observing communion online is that people aren't in the same physical space.  While that may not seem like a big deal, being tangibly present is SUPER important in Christian faith.  Remember, Jesus coming "in the flesh" is critical to our salvation (John 1:14).*  The fact that Jesus gave himself physically for our sins and gave the elements physically to his disciples is something we can't get away from.

Along with this, another contemporary concern is that observing Holy Communion online may disrupt the physical community.  Is online communion simply a product of a society/generation that often prefers being distant from one another?  (Think of the people who would rather text than meet in person - consider what the last supper would look like in the pic below.)  Will this cause people to be further disconnected from each other and God?  I'm of the mind that technology should be designed to enhance life, not simulate it, which means we have to be aware of it's ability to sap human interaction.  

Hosting while Posting:
"Hey Peter, what's the wi-fi password in here again?"

That said, I believe a better way to understand "communion" is by it's Greek definition of koinonia meaning a unique sense of fellowship.  Luke 22:14-15 above shows us Jesus was "with" the apostles and the apostles were "with him".   So, can physical community be created through technology?  No, not where people can touch one another.  But can technology mediate the community's fellowship (or the koinonia)?  Ever phone into a conference call?  Ever take a class via satellite?  Ever watch a live streamed event online?  Ever use Skype, Tango, Google+, Facetime, etc???  If you've answered yes, you may have very well experienced koinonia in the 21st century.  


While we must be mindful of technology's ability to dull human connections, we can affirm that technology offers ways to experience koinonia that have not been historically available.  Speaking of history...



Reflecting,
j.a.g.



Lord, please help us to experience community with one another and be faithful to the words of Christ.  Thank You for Holy Communion, an opportunity to gather together and receive from You.  Finally, Lord thank You for Fredara and her imagination to seek You in every medium, to not be limited by what she has seen, but to press into possibilities of a communion that she has not known.  May we encounter You as we eat and drink together.  In Christ, Amen.  






*In the early church, there were major controversies around Jesus' body not being physical (google Docetism and Gnosticism).  These have been condemned and for good reason, I believe.  Christ had to come in the flesh in order to redeem flesh.  Gregory of Nazianzus wrote "What is not assumed is not healed", meaning in order for Christ to heal our sinful condition, he had to assume our humanity.