Articles
The Breaking of Bread
Last Sunday, as we do each Lord’s day, the Centreville church met together to break bread. We gathered as a spiritual body to reflect upon the death of the Lord, the pivotal event in all the annals of human history which provided atonement for sins and which made it possible for us to exist as a community of believers. We did not merely assemble to talk and mentally reflect, we actually ate as Jesus commanded His disciples on Passover: “Jesus took bread, blessed it and broke it, and gave it to the disciples and said, ‘Take, eat; this is My body.’ Then He took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, ‘Drink from it, all of you. For this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins’” (Mt 26:26-28).
And this is what the first saints did in the days following Pentecost: “And they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers” (Ac 2:42). To “break bread” in the NT merely refers to eating; it must be determined by context whether such eating is done as a matter of worship (the Lord’s supper) or as a social occasion. This verse reflects the enormous change these early disciples were undergoing. They were leaving Judaism (with all the negative social stigmatization that came with that decision) and reorienting themselves to OT Scripture in the light of actual fulfillment. They were expanding their knowledge of the Messiah at the feet of the apostles, who were both personal acquaintances and authorized witnesses of Him as well as recipients of the Holy Spirit who was revealing further truth to them. These first Christians were also worshiping God in a brand new format, proclaiming the death of the Lord by partaking of His memorial supper and offering prayers that addressed a completely different reality than they had known before.
Last Monday, the saints at Centreville also gathered to break bread, but this occasion was different from the previous day. This meal was not in honor of the Lord but of fellow Christians who have been part of this local family and are now moving to new locations. This was not an act of worship though worship was offered to God in the proceedings. He was given thanks for the food as well as the spiritual ties that make this parting of ways significant.
This kind of meal the earliest disciples engaged in as well. Luke also notes: “So continuing daily with one accord in the temple and breaking bread from house to house, they ate their food with gladness and simplicity of heart” (Ac 2:46). This was not done in a formal assembly but as individual sharing within the home setting. This doesn’t mean that such a meal was unimportant, but we do acknowledge the difference between a commemorative meal wherein the eating is symbolic and a social meal which brings physical and emotional contentedness.
Why the sharing of a social meal is often an expression of gladness, friendship and honor I do not know, but it is such even among those of a secular outlook (banquets to honor achievement; Super Bowl parties; Fourth of July picnics; family reunions, etc.). But what I do know is that it is a supreme joy and comfort to have brethren to eat with, swap stories with, thrash out political issues with; to watch our children play together; to share each other’s fears and frustrations; to confirm brotherly love. What a great blessing are both kinds of breaking bread! But mixing them together as the Corinthians did (1 Cor 11:22, 34) results in the “carnalization” of worship. Let us respect the variety of blessings God has given us in breaking bread and honor the boundaries He has placed upon them.
