1 Corinthians 11:17-33
“Join the Club” After Jesus: Before Christianity (Westar)
Last week we learned that some of the groups who followed Jesus in the first and second centuries thought of themselves as families. They could be actual families – all the people associated with a household in the Empire, or they could be created families – groups of people who adopted each other. Perhaps they had lost their natural families because of illness or enslavement. Or they never had a family and found each other. Or they left their original families and connected instead with a new family of Jesus people. At any rate, these variations on family challenged the stability of the Empire and pushed the boundaries of what family could mean in ways that many Christians are unwilling to do today. When we challenge traditional family to expand the possibilities of loving relationships and caring connection, we’re firmly in the earliest tradition of Jesus followers.
Today we’re going to learn about associations or clubs of Jesus followers. Unlike last week when the groups of followers pushed boundaries of social norms, associations were well within the customs of the Empire. Anybody and everybody could belong to an association. There was nothing unusual about them. So that means the earliest Jesus followers sometimes broke social norms and sometimes followed them to their own advantage. Once again, diversity is the key.
Much of what we know about these common associations we know from their bylaws. These have been preserved for us because they were literally “set in stone.” They were inscribed on stone chunks or pillars and set up in the meeting places for everyone to see. Not much written history exists about these groups because they were common, and those things which are every-day rarely get written into histories, which recount momentous or unusual events. But because these inscriptions were on stone, archaeologists have uncovered some of them so they can be studied.
These groups went by a variety of names: collegium, koinonia, synods, synergasia, synagogue. We recognize those names in our words for groups or gatherings. They commonly gathered for meals, sometimes for singing or dancing, or for discussion of ideas they valued. There were dues for these groups and often the group would provide a funeral and burial for members who otherwise wouldn’t have those services. Some groups were for only men or women and others were mixed. Jesus followers who formed an association would hardly be noticed in their communities because they were doing what many people did.
The rules each association followed would have been drafted and voted on by the group and then enforced by leaders and by bouncers, which some called “horses.” Many called for orderly conduct in gatherings. The association which honored Bacchus by drinking wine had strict rules about not fighting when inebriated, and the horses could evict those who violated the rules. They would have to pay a fine of good wine for the next meeting to be reinstated.
Our scripture lesson today is quite likely Paul’s rules for the association in Corinth concerning common meals. Many associations which honored a particular god or leader would understand their gathered dinners as hosted by that god or leader. So Jesus is the host of the meal when his association gathers. Because of that, they should conduct this meal in a way that honors Jesus and builds up the community. They should share the food equally and refrain from drunkenness or gluttony. They should remember Jesus breaking bread during his lifetime and remember how his body was broken through crucifixion when bread is broken among them. They should not abuse the wine but instead solemnly remember that Jesus bled for them whenever they share a cup. In the custom of the time, these meals would have been lengthy affairs with participants reclining on couches around the room. From time to time servants would have gathered the scraps people had dropped and let the dogs into the room to gobble them up and clean the floor. There would have been plenty of time for conversation and for remembering the teachings of Jesus. He would have been understood as present in their gatherings, and Paul wants folks to be respectful of that reality.
Another familiar passage that Paul wrote to the church in Corinth is 1 Corinthians 13, which we know as the “love chapter” and often read at weddings. Originally it wasn’t about marital love (since marriages were arranged and not based on love), but was a set of guidelines for an association. A group which is going to get along, build each other up, learn about Jesus and honor him, should have love and respect for one another. They should be kind, gracious and forgiving. They should set aside jealousy or boastfulness. They should refrain from being rude. All of these are good guidelines for a group which wants to be together over time and prosper.
Of all the many ways of being a Jesus-following group, the association may come closest to looking like what we know as church today – at least our small church which is a gathering of friends for our mutual benefit and to honor Jesus. So it benefits us to think about what we would inscribe on our stone as guidelines for our association.
At our last council meeting we began again to think about how we could include more people in our church and grow. How can we invite friends to come be a part of who we are and what we are doing? We need to start by being clear about who we are and what we do. What matters most to us? What are the written and unwritten rules about how we do things? How do those rules change when they need to? (a good reason to write on paper and not actual stone) What do we say “yes” to when opportunities come our way? What do we say “no” about? How do we decide? What does it mean to be Family of God in this time and place?
Those are big, important questions. They deserve some time and solid reflection. If we answer too quickly or too easily we may miss something important. But in the life of this congregation, it’s time for us to have the conversations we need to find our answers. The answers of these people in this time and place. We’re reading this book this summer because it’s good to know how followers of Jesus started out. It’s good to know where we are as followers of Jesus in this time. Those are the foundation stones of our future, which we get to create together. Which we align with our understanding of Jesus – who he is and who he is becoming – as we live him into our moment in time.