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These were small groups meeting in private homes wherever possible. The house gatherings had two major characteristics.
a) A shared meal was central. Sharing a meal togther was part of Roman life. Business and cult worship would involve eating together, as did the Hebrews, who partook of portions of their sacrifices. Their religious gatherings were know as 'the Feasts'.
b) In Roman society men and women did not eat together outside of the family. It was custom for the higher ranked people to eat first and be given the best food. Other people were served by rank and status, with the lowest group getting whatever was left. The NT Christians were radical. Men and women ate together, and food was to be shared equally without regard to rank. Nowhere else in the Empire was that a practice. The meal would begin by breaking the bread, "This is my body", there would then be food and sharing of one's faith, questions, etc, and ending with the "this is my body' pronounced with a glass of wine, very different from our more formal communion rituals.
Sharing ones faith over a shared meal amongst a new community of equals was so radical it became something to view with deep suspicion by the authorities. Such practices could undermine the structures of Roman society. That became a factor in the persecution by the State.
Are we as radical in our practice of a new Jesus centred society that presents challenges to our cultural values? It's more tan just meeting in homes; it was then a matter of what those house meetings were.
John
NZ
a) A shared meal was central. Sharing a meal togther was part of Roman life. Business and cult worship would involve eating together, as did the Hebrews, who partook of portions of their sacrifices. Their religious gatherings were know as 'the Feasts'.
b) In Roman society men and women did not eat together outside of the family. It was custom for the higher ranked people to eat first and be given the best food. Other people were served by rank and status, with the lowest group getting whatever was left. The NT Christians were radical. Men and women ate together, and food was to be shared equally without regard to rank. Nowhere else in the Empire was that a practice. The meal would begin by breaking the bread, "This is my body", there would then be food and sharing of one's faith, questions, etc, and ending with the "this is my body' pronounced with a glass of wine, very different from our more formal communion rituals.
Sharing ones faith over a shared meal amongst a new community of equals was so radical it became something to view with deep suspicion by the authorities. Such practices could undermine the structures of Roman society. That became a factor in the persecution by the State.
Are we as radical in our practice of a new Jesus centred society that presents challenges to our cultural values? It's more tan just meeting in homes; it was then a matter of what those house meetings were.
John
NZ
