Monday, May 26, 2025

It is the 26th of May 2025. Welcome to the Christian History Almanac, brought to you by 1517 at 1517.org; I’m Dan van Voorhis.

A very happy Monday- in America, it is Memorial Day- the beginning of summer- break out your white linen trousers, light the grill, get ready for the Angels to break your heart.

We head to the mailbag- to a friend of the show- it is Heiko, all the way from Hamburg, Germany. Hamburg, of course, is known for being the first place to try and fashion steak from ground beef- and more successfully than Dr. Salisbury, who tried to sell us what he called “muscle pulp of beef,” we call it Salisbury steak.

Heiko wrote an email with a question. He wondered whether or not I would tackle it- he wrote:

“Don't you want to do an episode on the question of why it should be okay to dip in the wafer (preferably in juice...) during the Lord's Supper if the only clarity according to the Bible should be “And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of it” (Mt 16:27)? I mean, there were whole church schisms over the Lord's Supper because the text is supposed to be so unclear. But surely the verbs “give” and ‘drink’ should also “not actually mean” (bad phrase) “dip in” in the original Greek text?”

There is something about debating the Lord’s Supper- and the “right way” to do it that makes me want to run for the hills, with my fingers in my ears, shouting “I can’t hear you!” I get the significance, but I also know that the entire trajectory of our Protestant church was altered on account of these disagreements. I’ve also been in both Presbyterian and Lutheran contexts much of my life- at one church, when we tried to go from quarterly to monthly communion, it almost split the church. I’ve also been at churches where there was never even a consideration of not doing communion every time we gathered.

There are SO many ways it is done- intinction being one standard way- in fact, it’s what you will likely find in Eastern Orthodox churches. They also, along with others, practice “paedo-communion,” and it has been suggested that this developed as a way to give infants communion who couldn’t chew and swallow regular bread.

One of the first times we see intinction mentioned in church history is from Pope Julius I in the mid-300s. Julius says he has heard some people do this (intinction) and they should stop. 

We do see intinction blessed for the sick and infirmed, but that’s about it. There is a concern that some of the elements could be spilled.

Into the Western church in the Middle Ages- with the development of the doctrine of Transubstantiation the wine was kept from the parishioners- partly our of fear of spilling- but now with the teaching that the wafer became literally the physical body of Jesus- flesh implies blood- and so you could, according to some, receive both body and blood in the wafer only and then you don’t have to worry about spilling.

Furthermore, in the Middle Ages, the emphasis was on the priest as celebrant and representative (like an Old Testament priest), and thus they could perform the service of the sacrament and consume it on behalf of the people. One of the major motivations behind the early reformation in Bohemia was this practice- in fact, those “reformers” have a name- the “Utraquists,” which means “each of two” or “both kinds,” stating they wanted bread and wine.

As for the bread, the Eastern churches use leavened bread (for the risen Christ), and in the West, unleavened bread is commonly used- this hearkens back to the Old Testament.

When did intinction become common? It’s a 20th-century practice in the West- larger churches were looking for efficiency, and intinction is efficient! In the 1940s, the Missouri Synod officially- (synodically?) Condemned it. The Anglicans, at the same time, condoned it, but only under certain circumstances. Other Protestant denominations have tended to leave it to the local level to decide how best to practice the sacrament.

As for the “dipping”- John 13:26 is interesting- the context is the Last supper and Judas, and we read: Jesus answered, “It is the one to whom I will give this piece of bread when I have dipped it in the dish.” Then, dipping the piece of bread, he gave it to Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot. ²⁷ As soon as Judas took the bread, Satan entered into him.”

This has, ironically, been used to condemn and condone the practice. Go to ten churches and you might get 10 distinct practices. I’m reminded of the old definitions- if the elements are there and the word of promise is there… well… my time's up.  

Thanks, Heiko, for your saying our phrase in German on the anniversary show- you can send me your questions at danv@1517.org.

The Last word for today comes from the daily lectionary and Revelation:

5 He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” Then he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.”

6 He said to me: “It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To the thirsty I will give water without cost from the spring of the water of life. 7 Those who are victorious will inherit all this, and I will be their God and they will be my children.

This has been the Christian History Almanac for the 26th of May 2025 brought to you by 1517 at 1517.org.

The show is produced by a man who enjoys a good muscle pulp of beef tv dinner, with the little mashed potato square and the fruit cobbler in the corner of the tray- he is Christopher Gillespie.

The show is written and read by a man who really just needs to know that TV dinners were a thing to figure out when mass culture took over America- I’m Dan van Voorhis. 

You can catch us here every day- and remember that the rumors of grace, forgiveness, and the redemption of all things are true…. Everything is going to be ok.