St. Paul precedes the first historical documentation of the liturgy of the Eucharist written in 1 Corinthians 11 as follows:
"17 In giving this instruction, I do not praise the fact that your meetings are doing more harm than good. 18 First of all, I hear that when you meet as a church there are divisions among you, and to a degree I believe it; 19there have to be factions among you in order that (also) those who are approved among you may become known. 20 When you meet in one place, then, it is not to eat the Lords supper, 21 for in eating, each one goes ahead with his own supper, and one goes hungry while another gets drunk. 22 Do you not have houses in which you can eat and drink? Or do you show contempt for the church of God and make those who have nothing feel ashamed? What can I say to you? Shall I praise you? In this matter I do not praise you."
In these verses I see a mandate for ecumenism. It's easy to appear to pick apart my argument by quoting "when you meet as a church" and saying that it applies to Catholic masses. But if we look at the surrounding text, it provides context that makes it pretty hard to refute.
Verses 3-16 are the instructions for men and women to maintain the outward reflection of their created states while preaching (yes, both sexes).
Verses 23-26 are, in essence, the Eucharistic liturgy that our priests repeat in mass. Verses 27-28 are the rationale for refraining from communion if we are not in a state of sanctifying grace. Verses 29-32 are our rationale for asking non-Catholics/Orthodox from receiving communion ("anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body, eats and drinks judgment on himself"). And verses 33 and 34 end the "chapter,"
"33Therefore, my brothers, when you come together to eat, wait for one another. 34If anyone is hungry, he should eat at home, so that your meetings may not result in judgment. The other matters I shall set in order when I come."
If we look at the original Christian communities as a collection of "house churches" (mirroring the Last Supper), we see that all the Christians from throughout an area would come together for the agape feasts, the form of the Eucharist in which worshipers brought food to the meeting place for sharing with one another (including the poor).
In the rest of the first letter to the Corinthians, Paul excoriates them for falling into factions. In 1 Corinthians 1: 11-13, he writes:
"11 For it has been reported to me about you, my brothers, by Chloes people, that there are rivalries among you. 12 I mean that each of you is saying, I belong to Paul, or I belong to Apollos, or I belong to Cephas, or I belong to Christ. 13 Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul?
I look on this verse as paralleling our divisions with our Orthodox and Protestant brothers and sisters (the new kinship in Christ). We Catholics "belong to Cephas" and his successors. Lutherans belong to Luther (and his successors), Methodists belong to Wesley, Presbyterians to Knox, Reformed to Calvin and Zwingli.
This is not OK. How can we build one Church? The easy answer for us Catholics is to say that they have to acknowledge the supremacy of the Chair of Peter, and just get with the program. Yet this is abysmal ecumenism. In fact, I'm not sure it's the right thing to do. If we chose to forgo relationships with the Orthodox and Protestants because they won't accept our Catechism, we're putting our being right above agape (unconditional love). Only in relationship with our brothers and sisters in other denominations can we truly show them love.
1 Corinthians 12 sets the backdrop for the paean to love (agape [charity, unconditional love]) in Chapter 13 (love is patient, love is kind...). Chapter 12 says
"21The eye cannot say to the hand, I do not need you, nor again the head to the feet, I do not need you. 22Indeed, the parts of the body that seem to be weaker are all the more necessary, 23and those parts of the body that we consider less honorable we surround with greater honor, and our less presentable parts are treated with greater propriety, 24 whereas our more presentable parts do not need this. But God has so constructed the body as to give greater honor to a part that is without it, 25 so that there may be no division in the body, but that the parts may have the same concern for one another. "
So how do we "do ecumenism?" Here are some suggestions: ecumenical Bible study (a great thing for Catholics, since so few Catholics know the Bible). Ecumenical service projects (soup kitchens, blight-busting, community gardens, etc.). What about ecumenical marriage preparation? Sure, there are some issues to address (e.g., divorce), but isn't there starting material?
If we can establish relationships with our Protestant and Orthodox brothers and sisters, it's much easier to talk about other steps. Have harder conversations.
What do you think?
"17 In giving this instruction, I do not praise the fact that your meetings are doing more harm than good. 18 First of all, I hear that when you meet as a church there are divisions among you, and to a degree I believe it; 19there have to be factions among you in order that (also) those who are approved among you may become known. 20 When you meet in one place, then, it is not to eat the Lords supper, 21 for in eating, each one goes ahead with his own supper, and one goes hungry while another gets drunk. 22 Do you not have houses in which you can eat and drink? Or do you show contempt for the church of God and make those who have nothing feel ashamed? What can I say to you? Shall I praise you? In this matter I do not praise you."
In these verses I see a mandate for ecumenism. It's easy to appear to pick apart my argument by quoting "when you meet as a church" and saying that it applies to Catholic masses. But if we look at the surrounding text, it provides context that makes it pretty hard to refute.
Verses 3-16 are the instructions for men and women to maintain the outward reflection of their created states while preaching (yes, both sexes).
Verses 23-26 are, in essence, the Eucharistic liturgy that our priests repeat in mass. Verses 27-28 are the rationale for refraining from communion if we are not in a state of sanctifying grace. Verses 29-32 are our rationale for asking non-Catholics/Orthodox from receiving communion ("anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body, eats and drinks judgment on himself"). And verses 33 and 34 end the "chapter,"
"33Therefore, my brothers, when you come together to eat, wait for one another. 34If anyone is hungry, he should eat at home, so that your meetings may not result in judgment. The other matters I shall set in order when I come."
If we look at the original Christian communities as a collection of "house churches" (mirroring the Last Supper), we see that all the Christians from throughout an area would come together for the agape feasts, the form of the Eucharist in which worshipers brought food to the meeting place for sharing with one another (including the poor).
In the rest of the first letter to the Corinthians, Paul excoriates them for falling into factions. In 1 Corinthians 1: 11-13, he writes:
"11 For it has been reported to me about you, my brothers, by Chloes people, that there are rivalries among you. 12 I mean that each of you is saying, I belong to Paul, or I belong to Apollos, or I belong to Cephas, or I belong to Christ. 13 Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul?
I look on this verse as paralleling our divisions with our Orthodox and Protestant brothers and sisters (the new kinship in Christ). We Catholics "belong to Cephas" and his successors. Lutherans belong to Luther (and his successors), Methodists belong to Wesley, Presbyterians to Knox, Reformed to Calvin and Zwingli.
This is not OK. How can we build one Church? The easy answer for us Catholics is to say that they have to acknowledge the supremacy of the Chair of Peter, and just get with the program. Yet this is abysmal ecumenism. In fact, I'm not sure it's the right thing to do. If we chose to forgo relationships with the Orthodox and Protestants because they won't accept our Catechism, we're putting our being right above agape (unconditional love). Only in relationship with our brothers and sisters in other denominations can we truly show them love.
1 Corinthians 12 sets the backdrop for the paean to love (agape [charity, unconditional love]) in Chapter 13 (love is patient, love is kind...). Chapter 12 says
"21The eye cannot say to the hand, I do not need you, nor again the head to the feet, I do not need you. 22Indeed, the parts of the body that seem to be weaker are all the more necessary, 23and those parts of the body that we consider less honorable we surround with greater honor, and our less presentable parts are treated with greater propriety, 24 whereas our more presentable parts do not need this. But God has so constructed the body as to give greater honor to a part that is without it, 25 so that there may be no division in the body, but that the parts may have the same concern for one another. "
So how do we "do ecumenism?" Here are some suggestions: ecumenical Bible study (a great thing for Catholics, since so few Catholics know the Bible). Ecumenical service projects (soup kitchens, blight-busting, community gardens, etc.). What about ecumenical marriage preparation? Sure, there are some issues to address (e.g., divorce), but isn't there starting material?
If we can establish relationships with our Protestant and Orthodox brothers and sisters, it's much easier to talk about other steps. Have harder conversations.
What do you think?