The Shape Of Table Worship

From the very beginnings of Table worship, its various parts have been discernible. The service of the Table originated at the Last Supper (see Matt. 26:29) and consisted of seven parts, in which Jesus: 1. took bread, 2. blessed the bread, 3. broke the bread, 4. gave bread to his disciples, 5. took a cup, 6. gave thanks, 7. gave the cup to his disciples. In the process of time, these seven actions were condensed into four. For example, Luke may have been aware of these four actions of the Table when he wrote "he took bread, gave thanks, broke it and began to give it to them" (Luke 24:30, italics added). Thus in the ancient church, the universal action at the Table compresses the four rites over the bread and three rites over the wine into four parts that incorporate the blessing and giving of bread and wine into single actions: 1. the taking 2. the blessing (over both bread and wine) 3. the breaking 4. the distribution (of both bread and wine) As worship developed…