Worship as Easter

Christian worship has its origins in the death and resurrection of Jesus. Without Easter, there is no Christian worship. We might even say that whenever Christians meet to worship they celebrate Easter.

Two Places

There are two places that are so important to Christian worship that we cannot understand its shape without them: the Jewish Synagogue and the Upper Room. Of course, the Temple offers many points of similarity and contrast; but the Synagogue and the Upper Room give shape to the two points of focus in Christian worship: Word and Table.

In Acts 2.42, we read that the earliest Christians devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. Teaching and prayers in fellowship characterised the worship of the Synagogue; the Upper Room was the place where breaking bread gained new meaning – “Remember me”.

The Synagogue and the Word

Synagogue worship began in the period of the Exile (587-539 BC) when the (First) Temple built by Solomon was destroyed. With the destruction of the First Temple, sacrifices could no longer offered. This led to two reactions:

            ^.   first, the prophetic preaching that justice and mercy were more important than                    the blood of sacrifices;

            ^.   second, the beginning of worship based on teaching by the Levites and on                           community prayers.

Synagogue worship developed as many Jews were denied access to the (Second) Temple (built by Nehemiah after the Exile) by reason of geographical distance. The reading and explanation of scripture and the prayers were joined by the singing of psalms. The worship was congregational in form and included the responsive participation that we know in our own worship. See, for example, Ps 136, where the phrase for his steadfast love endures forever seems designed for the purpose.

It is not difficult to see that this Synagogue form of worship is echoed in Christian worship.

The Upper Room and the Table

Jesus, at table, blessed God for bread and wine and shared them with his friends, saying, Remember me. The story of his actions and words became the basis of the primary act of Christian worship. The story is retold many times in the NT (1 Cor 11.23-26; Mk 14.22-23; Mt 26.26-28; Lk 22.17-20). Luke adds a second account in the story of the road to Emmaus (Lk 24.13-35), and in the Fourth Gospel the feeding of the 5000 leads into an extended meditation (Jn 6.31-58).

From the Upper Room come:

             ^. the story that transforms all Christian worship

             ^. the meal that is its central and distinctive act.
 

 Further Thinking

How is Christian worship different from other faiths?

Which is more important - Word or Table?

If Christian worship is the celebration of Easter, how do Synagogue and Upper room help us to celebrate?

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