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Table Waiting

By Phillip Ross

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Paul wrote, "So then, my brothers, when you come together to eat" (1 Corinthians 11:33). Let's pause mid-sentence to note the common practice of the early churches known as table fellowship. Was Paul talking about the Lord's supper here? Of course he was, in a sense. But there are two distinct aspects of the Lord's Supper that he alludes to. There is a formal aspect and an informal aspect, and if we fail to note which aspect he is now talking about we will misconstrue what is being said.

The whole sentence reads, "So then, my brothers, when you come together to eat, wait for one another -- if anyone is hungry, let him eat at home -- so that when you come together it will not be for judgment" (1 Corinthians 11:33-34). Notice several things: 1) that the subject of this chapter, its context, is the Lord's Supper or Communion, 2) that Paul has been discussing the consequences of taking communion wrongly, and 3) that Paul now introduces the idea of eating at home. The third observation shows that Paul distinguishes between the Lord's Supper (as a formal celebration of Communion in a worship context) and the Lord's supper or table fellowship (as the informal practice of dining together in one another's homes apart from formal worship). Paul here introduces the idea of eating at home, and distinguishes it from Communion in a worship context.

Let's also look more closely at the phrase "wait for one another." The Greek is composed of two words: ekdechomai, translated as "wait," and allelon, translated as "one another." The word "for" has been added to the English for clarity. However, it appears that the addition does not provide clarity, but glosses over what may be a more important meaning. The addition of the word "for" assumes that the phrase means that everyone should begin to eat at the same time, at the same moment. We envision people gathered around the table, and no one can begin eating until a signal is given. But there is no contextual reason for such a suggestion. And there is a better way to translate this phrase that provides greater consistency to the Christian calling in the given context.

The word "wait" has several senses in Greek, just as it does in English. It can mean "remaining inactive in one place while expecting something," or it can mean "to serve as a waiter or waitress as in a restaurant." The context determines which meaning should be invoked. But here the context is eating, so there is no good reason to assume the first and deny the second. Therefore, I want to suggest a better translation for this phrase, "wait upon one another." This sense captures the emphasis that Christianity places upon service, and upon the call to service that is related to Paul's discussions of the duties of deacon, recalling that the word deacon literally means table waiter.

As with all things Christian, there are both formal and informal realities and practices. (Informal Christianity -- Refining Christ's Church, by Phillip A. Ross, Pilgrim Platform Books, 2007.) There are various things that the church is to do when she gathers together and there are various things that Christians do when they leave formal worship and scatter into the community. But Paul makes the case that, whether gathered together on the Lord's Day or scattered from one another during the week, Christians must be Christian all the time, 24/7. How does this apply here?

The trinitarian character of the Lord's Supper provides both vertical and horizontal relationships, to use a traditional description of Communion. The vertical element alludes to the individual, personal relationship that believers have with the Lord Himself. And the horizontal element alludes to the social or common relationships that people have with one another. Remember that social relationships are always mixed. Believers and nonbelievers always fellowship together in the world and in the church.

There are both formal and informal aspects of both vertical and horizontal relationships, but here Paul points to the informal aspect of the horizontal relationships among believers. He said that one of the manifestations of that common horizontal relationship manifests in table fellowship or sharing a meal. It should also be noted that family meals -- common meals shared in homes -- are never reserved for believers only but are always mixed gatherings. Jesus knew that biological families were mixed, that some believed and some didn't (Luke 12:53), and that gatherings of family and friends would also be mixed gatherings.

Another problem is that verse 34 has been translated as if it is singular, but it could just as well be plural. The Greek allows for either. But here it should be translated in the plural because Paul mentioned in verse 33 that he was speaking to "my brethren," to a group of people. He does not turn aside to address any one particular person, so it should be assumed that the whole thought is addressed to the group. Consequently, a better translation would be "if some are hungry, let them eat at home" (my translation). The plural translation is supported by the fact that we know that the early Christians ate together and fellowshipped often in each other's homes (Acts 2:46).

So, a better translation of this whole sentence would be "So then, my brothers, when you come together to eat, wait upon one another -- if some are hungry, let them eat at home -- so that when you come together it will not be for judgment." Paul makes a distinction between eating informally at home and formally receiving the Lord's Supper while gathered for worship. And that is the main point that Paul is making here -- the difference between home fellowship and church fellowship. Both are part of Christian fellowship, but they are different. They perform different functions and have different dynamics.

He closes by saying, "About the other things I will give directions when I come" (1 Corinthians 11:34). There were other things to be spelled out. Exactly what those other things were is lost to antiquity. People speculate, but no one really knows. At best, it might be a reference to material covered in Paul's Second Letter to the Corinthians. We will simply note that Paul had more to say to the Corinthians than what we have recorded in his letters.

Paul said a lot in these four verses. He provided a diagnosis and a cure. His diagnosis was that many people in the church were weak and ill. And that, untreated, that weakness or illness leads to the sleep of death. His cure is to discipline the body of Christ, to discern between the wisdom of the world and the wisdom of Christ, and to gather around the wisdom of Christ and to forsake the wisdom of the world.

And how exactly is that done? Because the wisdom of the world is out to "get" and the wisdom of Christ is out to "give," it is done through service, by waiting upon one another around a common table. Paul taught the Corinthians to practice waiting upon one another at home, so that it would be easier to do at church. That's Paul's advice here. While we wait for Christ to return in judgment, we can help reduce the negative consequences of that judgment by performing the duties of deacons -- not necessarily seeking the formal office of deacon, but by performing the informal function of table waiting -- engaging in Christian service.

It's pretty simple, really. It may be too simple for those who are wise in the ways of the world, but not for Christians. Christians are called to service, ordinary service in the midst of ordinary living.

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