This very moving video is worth every bit of its 51 minutes and is worthy of sharing even after it was released in 2006. In 1998 former Pentecostal preacher Alex Jones along with his congregation embarked on a “New Testament Worship Service”. He spent 30 days reading and searching early Christian worship and in his own words, “came face to face with the truth.” He began to read the early Church fathers and saw something very different from how his church functioned. He found that in the early Church it wasn’t great preaching that was the center of worship but it was the Eucharist that was the center of worship. He found that the early Church talked about the Eucharist as being the Body and Blood of Our Lord. The most telling for him was the one desire of these first disciples in serving Christ to the point of giving one’s life and for the desire and call to holiness. Please enjoy this very beautiful and moving testimony.
Early Christian worship began in the homes of those early Christians and eventually moved to public worship places. Thankfully we have a document written only 50 years after the death of the apostle John on the structure of early Christian worship. Known by the friends of the apostles, Justin Martyr was writing to emperor Antononinus Pius in the year 150 AD explaining the nature of Christian worship in order to quell his anger and fear. One cannot help but see the striking resemblance of each Holy Mass that is celebrated today!
The Mass of the Early Christians as told by Justin Martyr – 150 AD
On the day we call the day of sun, all who dwell in the city or country gather in the same place. The memoirs of the apostles and the writings of the prophets are read, as much as time permits.
When the reader has finished, he who presides over those gathered admonishes and challenges them to imitate these beautiful things. (Homily)
Then we all rise together and offer prayers for ourselves … and for all others, wherever they may be, so that we may be found righteous by our life and actions, and faithful to the commandments, so as to obtain eternal salvation. (Prayers of the Faithful)
When the prayers are concluded we exchange the kiss. (Kiss of peace)
Then someone brings bread and a cup of water and wine mixed together to him who presides over the brethren. (Offertory gifts)
He takes them and offers praise and glory to the Father of the universe, through the name of the Son and of the Holy Spirit and for a considerable time he gives thanks (in Greek: eucharistian) that we have been judged worthy of these gifts. (Consecration)
When he has concluded the prayers and thanksgiving, all present give voice to an acclamation by saying, “Amen”.
When he who presides has given thanks and the people have responded, those whom we call deacons give to those present the “eucharisted”* bread, wine, and water and take them to those who are absent. (Holy Communion)
– Justin Martyr, 150 AD, writing to Emperor Antononinus Pius about the practice of Christian worship. (Apology. 1, 65-67; PG 6, 428-429)
“We call this food Eucharist… since Jesus Christ our Savior was made incarnate by the word of God and had both flesh and blood for our salvation, so too, as we have been taught, the food which has been made into the Eucharist by the Eucharistic prayer set down by Him, and the change of which our blood and flesh is nourished, is both the flesh and blood of that incarnated Jesus.”
*The mystery of the Eucharist is further explained by Justin Martyr in his First Apology (65)