I was reading the texts for Christ the King Sunday this morning in Eugene Peterson's Conversations Bible (consisting of the Message plus inserts taken from his writings and sermons over the years). In the midst of the Revelation 1:4b-8 reading he says that, well, Revelation is often thought of as having to do with eschatology, study of the last things, and then he makes the most surprising suggestion: that 'eschatology is the most pastoral of all the theological perspectives.' Not creation. Not Christology. Why? He argues that the pastoral work of eschatology is 'showing how the ending affects the present in such a way that the truth of the gospel is put to test in life in the middle'. I particularly think this is so in regards to the Lord's Supper which is as we say a foretaste of the feast to come. On of the most 'eschatologically rich' experiences with communion I've had is the 'Hearty Eucharist' at Yale Divinity School celebrated every year the last Friday before Thanksgiving. On this day the eucharist is a meal, with beautiful bread and ample wine, but also olive oil, cheeses, olives, and such. Everyone gets a little plate and a glass, and the service simply opens wide at the time of eating, entering into another mode of time-keeping altogether. People eat, drink, laugh, enjoy each other, giving thanks to God. It is wonderful, such a feast of abundance in place of what we usually experience at communion. I'd love to share a picture of this amazing day but I don't have one and can't find one. I don't know if anyone there has ever written about it. But that ought to happen. Ah, here is something from the Marquand Reader, the Yale Divinity School newsletter:
The Hearty Eucharist
“I know of no more common act of blasphemy than a family keeping television on during dinner time. Apparently this is a frequent occurrence in American homes today. It indicates that we have forgotten how to eat. Liturgists have worried for years about how to get a parish to understand itself as a community and especially how to make the Eucharist a common meal. Perhaps we have begun at the wrong end. If we don’t understand how to eat together as a family, that small ecclesial community, how can we possibly comprehend what it means to eat together as a congregation, that larger ecclesial community? Each family is a congregation in miniature. If we can’t share a meal at home how can we possibly do it in church?” —James White, from Christian Worship in North America
In an effort to further explore historical Christian meal practices while building our own traditions as discussed in the previous article, and in an attempt to re-engage our relationship to the environment, the economy, and each other through the food we share, this week we depart from our typical practices to continue the now-yearly tradition referred to as the “Hearty Eucharist.”
Celebrated in mid-November near the time of harvest and the holiday of Thanksgiving, this Eucharist is called “hearty” because worshipers are given larger portions of bread and wine or grape juice. Olives, cheese and olive oil and other foods are also offered, to provide extra nourishment—to make the Eucharist extra “hearty”—and to call to mind the earliest Christian Eucharists or Agape dinners at which these foods (along with herbs, and occasionally fish) were consumed. To emphasize the nature of this celebration as a meal, the food and drink is shared early in our time together, so that our conversation, song and prayer happen while we are eating and drinking, as they often do at home. Accordingly, the chairs will be arranged in a pattern reminiscent of the early Greco- Roman dining room or the “triclinion” which featured three banks of couches along the walls of a room. Though we will not be reclining on padded sofas, this arrangement will seek to encourage conversation and visual contact as at a meal in a home.
Although the Hearty Eucharist service may also be reminiscent of Wesleyan and Pietist “love feasts,” it was not with the love feast in mind that Hearty Eucharist was devised. Four years ago, the Hearty Eucharist was originally conceived by the Marquand team as a way of recreating the Last Supper (as described in the synoptic Gospels) in the food and fellowship. Like the disciples and Jesus, we bless bread and wine, share it together in a spirit of community and friendship, and sing hymns together. As Bill Goettler—who presided at our Hearty Eucharist three of the past four years—described it, the Hearty Eucharist table is plentiful with nourishment for all people, symbolizing the free and abundant offering of Jesus’ life.
NOTE: in an effort to conserve resources, we will not be using disposable dishes; we are relying on you to bring your own plate and cup to this service, plus more to share with those who did not bring their own! Please leave these dishes on the pew in the hall near the sacristy and restrooms on Thursday night or Friday morning, and we will wash themafter use and return them to the same location for your retrieval. You might want to mark them with your name for ease of return. Thank you.
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