Come to the Table: Meditations on the Lord's Supper. (George Knox & Ronald Heine) - Review

COME TO THE TABLE: Meditations on the Lord’s Supper. By George M. Knox and Ronald E. Heine. Eugene, OR: Cascade Books (Wipf & Stock), 2023. Xvii +152 pages.

From the earliest days of what has come to be known as the Stone-Campbell Movement, the various branches of the movement have placed a high emphasis on gathering at the Lord’s Table. Although the early leaders preferred to speak in terms of ordinances rather than sacraments, the movement is sacramental in its essence. That is while preaching plays an important role in the worship life of the movement's churches, worship is centered on the Table. What makes this movement interesting is not only its commitment to weekly (if not more frequent) communion but also the fact that the celebration of the Lord's Supper tends to be relatively informal. Churches within the movement usually feature laypersons serving as presiders at the Table. At the very least lay elders usually offer prayers over the elements. Historically that meant congregations could gather around the Lord's Table even if a preacher/evangelist was not present to provide a sermon. Another marker of this movement is the general absence of a prescribed liturgy. Therefore, one will find wide variation in practice across the movement’s churches.

In many Stone-Campbell congregations an elder, perhaps serving as the presider, will offer a meditation that expands on the meaning of the communion and its relationship to the Christian life. The content could be theological or practical. It is often rooted in personal experience. This practice is especially prominent in congregations where communion precedes the sermon (in most Disciples of Christ congregations, the sermon precedes the communion. Thus, the presider will offer an invitation but not a meditation, since the sermon essentially serves that role). However, the pattern of communion followed by the sermon is found across the Stone-Campbell Movement’s churches.

In those congregations where the leaders presiding at the Lord’s Table offer brief meditations, having prepared meditations that speak to various aspects of the gathering at the Table can be of great help. When the preparers of such meditations are scholars and teachers who have a good sense of what happens at the Table and in the life of the believer that is even more helpful. This is what we have in the book Come to the Table by George Knox and Ronald Heine.

The two co-authors of Come to the Table offer church leaders sixty meditations that can be used throughout the year. Both authors are emeritus professors at Bushnell University in Eugene Oregon. Before his retirement, George Knox taught the New Testament and Homiletics at the university, while Heine taught the Bible and theology. Heine is noted for his work on Origen, while Knox was one of my New Testament professors when I was a student at the college. This is one of the reasons why I chose to read and review this volume.

The two co-authors have divided up the writing of different parts of the book, with Heine providing the preface and Knox the introduction. In his preface, Heine notes the practice of using brief meditations, given by pastors or members of the congregation, is a custom found in some traditions. He notes also that he and George Knox have been part of a small congregation, where they joined with a group of members to offer meditations before serving the Lord's Supper. They have drawn from these meditations to offer a set useful for lay people to share in services. Knox provides a brief overview of the Lord's Supper, revealing the meanings attached to the Supper, beginning with koinonia, and continuing by noting that the Supper speaks of anticipation, hope, and finally remembrance. He roots the supper in the experience of the early followers of Jesus, who faced the pain of Jesus' death and the joy of being with the risen Christ. 

I found it interesting that the authors chose to organize the meditations around three liturgical categories. While my experience of the liturgical calendar begins with Advent, they chose to begin with Ordinary Time. They provide thirty-one meditations that can be used during the season that leads up to Advent/Christmas. Following this lengthy season, we move into Advent and Christmas (8 meditations), followed by Lent, Easter, and Pentecost (21 meditations).  Whatever calendar you use there is sufficient material to cover the worship for an entire year.  be used in congregational worship. Those who make use of these meditations can use them as they are or modify them. If nothing else, they can be used as a model for creating one's own meditations.

The theological orientation of the authors is, in terms of the Stone-Campbell Movement, centrist. The meditations follow that perspective. They reflect a strong commitment to the Christian faith, with a tone that might be described as a form of generous orthodoxy. As such Come to the Table should appeal to many within the Stone-Campbell Movement and beyond as they gather at the Lord’s Table.

To give a sense of what one will find in the book, I'll take note of two meditations, one from each of the authors. For Ronald Heine, I have chosen the first meditation in the collection. Titled "Ordinary Time," in this meditation, Heine points out that the Revised Common Lectionary divides the church year up into blocks of time that focus on special events in the life of Christ and the church. The rest of the year is designated as Ordinary Time. He suggests that it is appropriate that the bulk of Sundays are labeled Ordinary Time because this is how life works. There are significant special events in our lives, but much of life is ordinary. Here is where the Lord's Supper fits in. He writes:

But each Sunday when we participate in the Lord's Supper we are, for a brief moment at least, snatched out of ordinary time and thrust into the presence of Christ himself as we hear him say, 'Take, eat; this is my body,' and when we lift the cup to our lips he says, 'Drink from it, all of you; for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins' (Matt 26:26-28 NRSV)" (p. 16).

While I've never liked the nomenclature of Ordinary Time, preferring to speak of Sundays after Epiphany or Pentecost, Heine's explanation makes sense. Much of life is ordinary, but Christ is present even in ordinary times.

For George Knox, I chose an Easter meditation. The meditation reminds us, as the title of the meditation proclaims, that the cross and the resurrection are "Inextricably Entwined." You can't have one without the other. Without the resurrection, the cross offers us a person who left behind good teachings, but the person of Jesus is dead. He was an inspirational person, but not redemptive. On the other hand, the resurrection without the cross makes no sense since there is nothing to be validated by the resurrection. He ponders the question of whether someone might create a piece of jewelry that entwines a cross and an empty tomb. He reminds us of the biblical message that reveals that the cross without the resurrection is simply an instrument of death. Thus, "both the cross and resurrection lose their power when separated" (p. 132).

I realize that not every Christian tradition uses meditations to introduce the Lord’s Supper. While once common in Disciples churches, with the movement of the communion from before the sermon to afterward, meditations have generally been replaced with brief invitations. Nevertheless, these meditations will be of use in congregations that make use of meditations. They can be used as is or adapted to the moment. What they provide is well-thought-out reflections that fit the seasons and have theological depth. For others, they can serve as devotional material for personal edification. Whatever the case Ronald Heine and George Knox have created a resource in Come to the Table that will serve churches and Christians well as they contemplate the meaning of our gatherings at the Lord’s Table.