What does the image below have to do with the Lord’s Supper?
The above image is a screenshot from the movie Beat Street. That movie, released in 1984 did for break dancing and rap music and graffiti (hip hop) what the movie Colors did for gangs in 1986, it caused the phenomena to spread all across the United States.
Until today, I thought it portrayed a very realistic look at the slice of life in 1984 called Hip Hop. I found out it wasn’t so sugar coated as portrayed by Harry Belefonte in this film. That’s what researching for a blog post will do for you. My Beat Street bubbles have burst : (
Well, the title of this blog post speaks about the Lord’s Supper and whether or not we should treat it each Sunday as a funeral, which is often done, or as a celebration.
In the movie Beat Street (spoiler alert) one of the main characters was Ramo, a graffiti artist. Near the end of the movie, he dies while chasing a fellow graffiti artist who was spraying his “tag” (name) on one of Ramo’s masterpieces like seen in the image above.
Celebration or Funeral?
When discussing the memorial plans for Ramo, his best friend Double K (Kenny) says they will hold his memorial at the Roxy, a night club known far and wide for being THE place where break dance battles were held, hip hop artists would perform and DJs always played the newest rap songs. Double K would invite Melle Mel and the Furious Five to perform and a gospel group from the Bronx. “This won’t be a funeral,” he stated. “It’s going to be a celebration.”
Often times, and I’ve been guilty of it too, we treat the Lord’s supper talk as a funeral message and not a celebration. Are both styles appropriate in talking about the bread and about the cup? I think so, but too often we tend to make it a somber few moments each week. Of course, there are churches where it is never somber, but they may be the exception to the rule.
We should celebrate with joy the sacrifice of Jesus’ life at least as often as we lament his having to die for us. A good mixture of both is probably in due order.
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