Subscribe to Every Post:Agape Feast
This Sunday we will do something in our corporate service that we have never done before. We will participate in what is called an agape (love) feast. This was an event the early church regularly celebrated. It is commonly called Communion, the Eucharist, or the Lord’s Supper.
The focus of the celebration is the proclamation of Jesus’ death until he returns again. It was commonly practiced in the context of sharing a meal together in the bond of fellowship. The sharing of a meal (which was a practice common in Old and New Testament) often was a spiritual experience. The agape feast combined the meal and the remembrance elements of cup (blood) and bread (body).
Here is what Bible scholar Merrill Unger says about it:
“It would appear that the celebration of the Lord’s Supper by the first disciples occurred daily in private houses (Acts 2:46), in connection with the agape, or love feast, to indicate that its purpose was the expression of brotherly love. The offering of thanks and praise (1 Cor. 10:16; 11:24) was probably followed with the holy kiss (Rom. 16:16; 1 Cor. 16:20). It was of a somewhat festive character, judging from the excesses that Paul reproved (1 Cor. 11:20), and was associated with an ordinary meal, at the close of which the bread and wine were distributed as a memorial of Christ’s similar distribution to the disciples. From the accounts in Acts (2:42, 46) and from Paul’s letter to the Corinthians (11:20-21) it is safely inferred that the disciples each contributed a share of the food necessary for the meal, thus showing a community of love and fellowship. To this unifying power of the Eucharist Paul evidently refers (10:16-17).”
This Sunday we will share a meal together around tables and share the bread and cup together. We are asking everyone, if possible, to bring a breakfast dish to pass.
If you are a Grace attender, click here to find out what to bring based on last name.
We will also encourage everyone to sit at a table with people you don’t know at all or don’t know very well. It will be a meaningful time of Christian love and community.
While we have been encouraging house churches to practice the agape feast on a regular basis, this will be a great opportunity for everyone to experience an uncommon tradition of the faith (that we hope will become more common within the community at Grace).
Looking forward to a unique experience!