Meals on the Menu – Why it Matters: Why Bother?

Major controversies over early Christian interpretations of the Lord’s Supper provide the background for this discussion. However, there is much more to this text. Recent scholarship has focused on what Paul seeks to achieve here, which is a restructuring of social relationships in the Corinthian community by means of altering the way in which they celebrate their meal. The bottom line seems to be that Paul wants the Corinthians to behave in a much more egalitarian manner at the table and, therefore, in their lives together, than they would have been used to in their hierarchical society. The point of having a meal together is to form a community; behavior at the table that underlines differences and distinctions in a group goes against the very nature of a meal, at least in Paul’s understanding.