Table Fellowship

Does our current communion practice adequately convey a biblical sense of community and fellowship? Why? or Why not?

Table fellowship is a consistent theme throughout the New Testament, especially Luke/Acts. Luke, the author of both Luke and Acts, portrays picture after picture of the earliest Christians eating and rejoicing together. In the first century, eating with someone said something about who you were. Fellowship proclaimed identity. Your identity was announced to others by who you chose to eat with. Sharing a meal with someone declared to outsiders your association with those gathered around the table. Meals were eaten with those who shared a common lifestyle and the same values. Meeting around a table symbolized friendship, intimacy, and unity.

The table fellowship shared among Christians on a day-to-day basis is an extension of the grand fellowship that we share as we gather around the Lord’s Table each Sunday. The fellowship experienced as we gather around the Lord’s Table on Sunday should extend into every other day of the week. Christianity is a relationship. It is a relationship that intimately intertwines God and his people in a loving community. I cannot think of a better way to experience this community than gathering around tables for fellowship. May all our tables reflect the identity that we share in Christ.