Corinth's Communion (part 17)

Ultimately, Paul is not critical of the fact that there is a celebratory meal taking place.  That is not a fundamental issue.  Paul does not necessarily rail against the institution of the symposium or the convivium itself, nor does he express opinions on the nature of eating and drinking (or what is consumed), except when he enters into a dissertation on practices of eating that are rooted in the need for the community to operate with a compassionate and self sacrificial love and sensitivity. 

Clearly though, with the symposium in view, he has concerns with some things that take place at this portion of the meal.  However, he does not appear to have a desire to alter the fact that it takes place.  Rather, his concern seems to lie with the fact that love, and the preferring of one another that will come with the modeled-out love of Jesus, is not being shown forth through the various activities that lie within that view.  It appears that Paul, understanding the example of Jesus at meals, while tying in the messianic banquet (rule of God) aspects of Jesus’ meal activities, sees the tremendous importance of the meal---especially as a force within society.  Consequently then, he wants to see this powerful force re-shaped in a way that will cause it to reflect the priorities of the kingdom of the Creator God. 

The more damning aspect of the activities of the church is that, with the powerful social forces that are at work, this church seemed to be participating in activities at their meal and related symposium, with those activities maintaining and expressing the requisite social stratifications and divisions that one would expect in that day, but which were clearly verboten for the church of the Christ.  In this way, this church has made their celebrations (meal and symposium taken together) indistinguishable from any other such celebration that might be taking place in Corinth. 

To make matters worse, they are doing this while they referring to what they are doing as the Lord’s Supper, and thus by extension pointing to it as their own version of the messianic banquet.  This is highly problematic, especially if the very forces that deface and defile their God’s creation, and which dishonor and defame divine image-bearers for the pleasure and amusement of another set of divine image-bearers, are on display. 

If the honor system was in effect in an obvious way at this church’s meal table, then this was going to be a problem for Paul.  If the “first” were making sure that they were still first and recognized as such (possessive of more honor in the court of public opinion and so getting all of the food and drink that they want, or getting the best), while also making sure that the “last” were still recognized as being the last (possessive of less honor in the court of public opinion and relegated to receiving the leftovers or the worst, if anything at all, which was standard operating procedure for the meal tables of that time and place), and if they were doing so within the event that was supposed to be a tool that would mark them out as being a very different community in which preferring one another was the order of the day and in which the first shall be last and the last shall be first (the shameful/humbled being exalted and the exalted/honored being humbled---a flattening out of society in which there was neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, but in which all were one in Christ, which was the vision of the messianic feast that marked out the time that the Creator God did indeed rule on earth), then this was certainly not the Lord’s Supper, and thus was most certainly not representative of the kingdom of the Creator God of Israel. 

Corinth's Communion (part 16)

A symposium would be overseen by a “symposiarch,” or a “master of the feast.”  Among the many duties of this person would be making a decision as to the strength of the wine for the evening, and this would depend on whether serious discussions were going to be taking place, or whether sensual indulgences were all that were on tap for the gathering.  The wine would be drawn from a large jar that was designed to be carried by two men, with the wine then served to the guests from pitchers. 

Continuing to learn about this social institution, Paul’s words of the sixth chapter are kept in mind as information is gathered about customary central features of the symposium.  Though free women of status were not allowed to attend such events, female prostitutes were often hired to accentuate the festivities.  This brings Paul’s mention of sexual immorality and prostitutes (1 Corinthians 6:13,15) into play, as Paul’s critique of this church is considered in the light of meal practice and the symposium.  Together with the prostitutes, slaves and boys would also be employed for entertainment and used to provide service, thus drawing attention to Paul’s mention of being “bought at a price” (6:20), which is the language of slavery. 

In effect then, the symposium or convivium was a male-oriented drinking session that would traditionally be held at the end of a meal.  Greek pottery of ancient times, including the time of Jesus and Paul, frequently includes decorations depicting symposium, showing that the range of activities would include drinking, music, singing, dancing, games, and sexual intercourse. 

As one imagines what might very well be the raucous nature of the symposium, and as one holds in mind the vital nature and importance of meal gatherings as demonstrated by Jesus and therefore embraced by the early church, can Paul not be understood to be writing into the context of this type of event (rather than in as a general approbation) when he delivers words such as “Do not be deceived!  The sexually immoral, idolaters, adulterers, passive homosexual partners, practicing homosexuals, thieves, the greedy, drunkards, the verbally abusive, and swindlers will not inherit the kingdom of God” (6:9b-10)?  This makes a great deal of sense if Paul is addressing a church that is engaging in this practice, while they presumptuously and falsely refer to it as their celebration of the messianic feast, which is the very thing that was suppose to signal the in-breaking of the kingdom of the Creator God.   

So not only is one forced to begin considering having “a careful regard for the body” in the mode of the body of believers (rather than the personal body or the body of Christ in terms of the bread of the communion table), but there is also a requirement to deal with the idea that Paul’s delineation of the parameters of the Lord’s Supper, or the communion table, are offered within the context of a grave concern over what is being put on display, or conversely, what is not being put on display by the meal practice of the Corinthian church. 

Paul appears to be quite concerned with the fact that love---true love as demonstrated by compassion and mercy, which should be reflected by image-bearers that are supposedly claiming Jesus as their Lord and living by the precepts on offer by Him in both word and deed and which are part and parcel of the celebration of the communion, is being left off the table.  This is in the wake of understanding the communion as a microcosm of the messianic feast by which it is confessed that Jesus is Lord, and in which the in-breaking of the Creator God’s compassion and mercy for this world is looked to and celebrated, with this having taken place by and through the Christ-event. 

Corinth's Communion (part 15)

The institution in view, which fits within the meal practice of the ancient world and which seems to demand consideration because of the context provided by Paul’s words in the sixth chapter of first Corinthians, is what is known as the “symposium” (Greek) or the “convivium” (Latin/Roman).  In ancient Greece, the symposium was a drinking party.  The word “symposium” derives from the Greek word “sympotein,” which means “to drink together.” 

The symposium was a key social institution in the Greco-Roman world, and would be especially so in a well-known and popular Greek city such as Corinth.  Among other things, it served as a forum for men to debate philosophy or the issues of the day, to devise grand schemes, to boast about achievements (note Paul’s mention of boasting in the fifth chapter), or quite simply to engage in festivities with friends, family, neighbors, and business associates. 

Symposiums were also frequently held to celebrate the introduction of young men into aristocratic society, for the purpose of celebrating special occasions, athletic victories (which would be key in Corinth which was the home of the Isthmian games), or other contests such as those held for the creation and recitation of poetry.  Most assuredly, an aura of nobility (according to the honor and shame culture and the societal honor competition) surrounded the symposium. 

The events would typically be held in the men’s quarters of the household; and of course, early church meetings took place in private homes, thus lending opportunities for such engagements.  Relatively quickly, it becomes rather simple to identify a slippery slope, especially when the idea of the messianic feast, which was of tremendous importance in the early church, was introduced into the wider Greco-Roman culture. 

Those that participated would recline on couches that would be arrayed against three walls of the room, away from the door or entryway.  Obviously, space limitations would limit the number of couches, therefore limiting the number of participants, even if one were to take standing room into consideration.  The events were limited to men, and only those of a certain status were allowed to recline.  If any young men were present, they would not recline, but would be obliged to sit up or to stand.  Naturally, food and wine would be served, and one does well to remember the social stratifications that would most assuredly be at work in conjunction with this service.  In addition, entertainment would be provided.  Depending on the occasion, this entertainment could include games, songs, flute-girls or boys, slaves performing various acts, or even entertainers hired specifically for the occasions. 

Moving forward then, it is necessary to consider how much of Greek culture, carried forward by Rome, had infiltrated the social life of first century Judea.  The meals that Jesus attended, and the meals to which He would make reference in His parables, could very well have taken up the cultural dynamic of the wider world.  Most assuredly, even if the communal meals did not take the form of the Greco-Roman meal, the culture of the eastern world, as it operated on and was dominated by considerations of honor and shame, would have included social stratifications.