In the Watchtower Study Article 4,January 2023 ,paragraph 6 ,we find the following statement.
And early on, in imitation of the first-century Christians, they began meeting just once a year to observe the Memorial.
Is this true? Did Christians really meet only once a year to celebrate the Memorial?
Of course not, we have many historical accounts that confirm the opposite.
St. Justin Martyr, who lived between 100 and 165 and the Watchtower has written about in the past,was a philosopher and Christian apologist. He desired greatly to share his newfound Christian faith and to explain it in a way that would be understood by the pagans of the Roman Empire.
St. Justin proceeded to submit an account of Christian worship to the Roman Emperor in order to clear up many misconceptions. Below is an excerpt from his “First Apology” that details the early liturgy of the Christian Church:
And on the day called Sunday, all who live in cities or in the country gather together to one place, and the letters of the apostles or the writings of the prophets are read, as long as time permits; then, when the reader has ceased, the president [the presiding priest or bishop] verbally instructs, and exhorts to the imitation of these good things. Then we all rise together and pray, and, as we before said, when our prayer is ended, bread and wine and water are brought, and the president in like manner offers prayers and thanksgivings, according to his ability, and the people assent, saying Amen; and there is a distribution to each, and a participation of that over which thanks have been given, and to those who are absent a portion is sent by the deacons . (St. Justin Martyr,100_165 AD)
Is there an indication in the Bible on how often Christians are instructed to celebrate the Memorial? We read in 1 Corinthians 11:25:
He did the same with the cup also, after they had the evening meal, saying: “This cup means the new covenant by virtue of my blood. Keep doing this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.”
This word whenever(=ὁσάκις/hosakis) appears only 3 times in the New Testament ,twice in 1 Corinthians 11 in relation with the bread and the wine and according to STRONGS Concordance means "as often as". As often as when? Considering that this often refers to whenever Christians got together for fellowship and association then this comemeration has no limit on the number of times during the year that Christians could break bread and share the wine.
Considering the fact that Christians met in all kind of settings including privetely in houses and in small groups, this taking from the bread and the wine was not performed just on Sundays and only in Churches. The Biblical definition of a Church has to do with the people not the building ,the definition is given in the gospel of Matthew 18:20:
"For where there are two or three gathered together in my name, there I am in their midst." -Matt. 18:20
Having that in mind how often would you as a Christian comemmorate Christ's death, once a year OR whenever you get together with other Christians for fellowship and association? The answer is obvious. After I left the Witnesses I formed along with others a small Bible study group during which every time we got together we partook from the bread and the wine at the end of every meeting. It was the right thing to do.
Why is it though that Jehovah's Witnesses celebrate the Memorial once a year? It is because they follow Jewish and not Christian traditions. According to the Watchtower 94 3/15 pp. 3-7 here is the reason why we should celebrate the Memorial once a year:
Remember, too, that Jesus initiated this observance and then died on the Jewish calendar date of Nisan 14. That was the day of the Passover, a festival reminding the Jews of the great deliverance they had experienced in Egypt in the 16th century B.C.E. At that time, the sacrifice of a lamb resulted in the salvation of the Jewish firstborn, whereas Jehovah’s angel struck down all the firstborn of Egypt.—Exodus 12:21, 24-27. How does this help our understanding? Well, the Christian apostle Paul wrote: “Christ our passover has been sacrificed.” (1 Corinthians 5:7) Jesus’ death was a greater Passover sacrifice, giving mankind the opportunity for a far grander salvation. For Christians, therefore, the Memorial of Christ’s death has replaced the Jewish Passover.—John 3:16.
What kind of attitude should we have when God or Jesus is asking us to do something without specifying the times? Should we aim for the least possible number or the highest? In fact there is an ancient Old Testament account that shows what our attitude should be. It is recorded in 2 Kings 13:14-19:
Now when E·liʹsha became ill with the sickness from which he eventually died, Je·hoʹash the king of Israel came down to him and wept over him, saying: “My father, my father! The chariot of Israel and his horsemen!” 15 E·liʹsha then said to him: “Take a bow and arrows.” So he took a bow and arrows. 16 Then he said to the king of Israel: “Put your hand to the bow.” So he put his hand to it, after which E·liʹsha laid his hands on the king’s hands. 17 Then he said: “Open the window toward the east.” So he opened it. E·liʹsha said: “Shoot!” So he shot. He now said: “Jehovah’s arrow of victory, the arrow of victory over Syria! You will strike down Syria at Aʹphek until you finish it off.” 18 He continued: “Take the arrows,” and he took them. Then he said to the king of Israel: “Strike the ground.” So he struck the ground three times and stopped. 19 At that the man of the true God grew indignant at him and said: “You should have struck the ground five or six times! Then you would have struck down Syria until you finished it off, but now you will strike down Syria only three times.”
What is the lesson of the story? I'll let you think that for yourselves...
*This year millions of Jehovah's Witnesses will take part in a worldwide ritual of denying Jesus sacrifice by not partaking from the bread and the wine as ALL Christians were instructed to do. Do not be part of such Satanic ritual.Abstain.
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