“Give Me That Old Time Religion, Bread Of Life, And Miracles *Weekend Open Thread

This weekend we continue in the Easter season. And really, shouldn’t it ALWAYS be Easter season? Well, except Christmas and Lent – but even then it’s Easter because of the Resurrection!

Anyway, as I was trying to say before I interrupted myself (happens more than you can imagine), I have been listening to a series on the Hallow app about the Early Christians. It’s been a fascinating series as we look back at what it was like for Christians in the first and second centuries.

One story in particular really grabbed me. Talk about “that old school religion,” Justin Martyr described what the church service was like for early Christians:

‘On the day called Sunday, all who live in cities or in the country gather together to one place, and the memoirs of the apostles or the writings of the prophets are read, as long as time permits; then when the reader has ceased, the president verbally instructs, and exhorts to the imitation of these good things. Then we all rise together and pray, and, as we before said, when our prayer is ended, bread and wine and water are brought, and the president in like manner offers prayers and thanksgivings, according to his ability, and the people assent, saying Amen; and there is a distribution to each, and a participation of that over which thanks have been given, and to those who are absent a portion is sent by the deacons. And they who are well to do, and willing, give what each thinks fit; and what is collected is deposited with the president, who succors [give assistance to] the orphans and widows, and those who, through sickness or any other cause are in want, and those who are in bonds, and the strangers sojourning among us, and in a word takes care of all who are in need. But Sunday is the day on which we all hold our common assembly, because it is the first day on which God, having wrought a change in the darkness and matter, made the world; and Jesus Christ our Savior on the same day rose from the dead.’

For those of us who are of the Anglican and Catholic faiths, that sounds like, well, CHURCH! I mean, come on – this is just astonishing, is it not, that our services are very much like church services for the earliest of Christians. I find that just fascinating, and powerful, that we harken back so closely to our brothers and sisters from two thousand years ago. Now, THAT’S some “old time religion”:

Well, I can tell you, I love this toe-tappin’ rendition from the incomparable Dolly Parton. The bass singer was pretty awesome, too!

One of the most important aspects of the early church service from Justin Martyr was the celebration of the Eucharist. I grew up a high church Episcopalian, “smells and bells” (meaning incense and ringing small bells at different parts of the Eucharist), with a perpetual candle symbolizing a consecrated host was present. Episcopalians believe in consubstantiation, meaning the bread and wine is like the body and blood of Jesus. Catholics believe (and correct me if I am wrong) that the bread and wine IS the body and blood of Christ. Some other denominations routinely celebrate the Eucharist, but as this article highlights, it is purely symbolic. It’s important, of course, but is not like or is not the actual body and blood of Christ.

But in all those denominations that celebrate Communion or the Eucharist, it is important to their walk with God.

Given what Jesus said about Himself and what He is, I would say that the Eucharist is mighty important. Like what He said in the Gospel of John, a beautifully written Gospel the wording of which often brings me to tears. Like this from John 6:35-40:

³⁵ Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty. ³⁶ But as I told you, you have seen me and still you do not believe. ³⁷ All those the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away. ³⁸ For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me. ³⁹ And this is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all those he has given me, but raise them up at the last day. ⁴⁰ For my Father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day.”

This passage has so much packed into 5 verses, does it not? It is heavy on the One who sent Jesus. Wow, wow, wow. But the verse 40 sums it up: if you believe in the Son, you will have eternal life with Him, the Spirit, and the Father.

Let that sink in.

Of course, there is what is written of the Eucharist itself. Like in Matthew 26: 26-27:

²⁶ While they were eating, Jesus took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to his disciples, saying, “Take and eat; this is my body.”

²⁷ Then he took a cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you. ²⁸ This is my blood of the^[a] covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. ²⁹ I tell you, I will not drink from this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom.”

Once again, we are guaranteed life with Jesus and His father in Their kingdom. If we uphold this covenant which forgives our sins. That is, the Eucharist. It is mighty important, to put it mildly.

And it is precisely about the Eucharist, the bread transformed into the Body, and Jesus proclaiming that He is the Bread of Life, that leads to the miracle portion of this weekend post. There have been a NUMBER of miracles related to the consecrated wafer-turned-to-living-flesh. No, seriously. For real. A number of them. But check out this incredible miracle from June of 2000 that happened in Rome, Italy. Yes, this miracle occurred just 24 years ago. This is astonishing:

When tests have been done by scientists on hosts that turn into flesh, they are from the heart muscle. Yeah. let THAT sink in. Oh, and the blood type? The rarest kind: AB Positive.

If you remember your biology class, AB+ is also the universal donor blood type. Only 3% of the population has this type of blood. And it’s the kind Jesus had. Of course.

I must admit, the scientific confirmation of the numerous miracles around the host and/or other consecrated wafers is hard to deny.

And my point? God is real. Jesus is real, and He walked this earth giving up His life to save ours. When we participate in the Eucharist, in the command Jesus gave us to do to remember Him, we are being given a gift that has no equal on this Earth. We serve a living God, and if we believe Him to be the Bread of Life, the Redeemer of the world, we are punching our ticket to Heavens, friends.

I’m on board. How about you?

Feel free to share whatever comments you may have below.

This is the Weekend Open Thread.

Tags: Early Christian Church Services, Early Christians, Eucharist, John 6:35-40, June 2000 Miracle In Rome, Justin Martyr, Matthew 26:26-27