In
the modern world, Christians bicker about many things amongst
themselves and others outside of the fold, but no other teaching of
Jesus Christ sparks as much controversy as the “Bread of Life
Discourse.” In multiple accounts of the Gospels and oral
tradition, Jesus claims, “I am the living bread which came down
from heaven; if any one eats of this bread, he will live for ever;
and the bread which I shall give for the life of the world is my
flesh” (John 6:51 RSV). This claim echoes in many of the disputes
of denominations of Christianity. The question is tantamount to
one's understanding of Christ. Thus, the defense of the Eucharist
creates a necessary dialogue between the denominations in order to
more deeply understand Who Christ is and what it is He intends for
us.
To
be fair to those who do not believe in a God, Christians defend God
proclaiming a piece of bread to be His Presence amongst us as a
rational claim. The claim's rationality hangs on the idea of whether
or not Jesus Christ was truly God and Man, Who hung upon a cross,
died for the salvation of all mankind and rose from the dead as a
sign of hope for all. If Christ did not raise from the dead, the
argument fails. It is important to note that the “Catholic
doctrine says that Christ's sacrifice, besides being an atonement,
was also a redemption – in other words, a buying back into
spiritual liberty of the human race which had become the slave of
evil”1
Without the belief in a Supreme Being, this argument loses its
support. Belief is not a thing that can be possessed, but rather is
a gift given. An assent to faith is not man-made: it can not be.
Man can not give himself something he does not possess. Therefore,
the argument points directly back to the idea that Christ was either
God or a liar.
Therefore,
holding a belief in not only a God, but the Christian God, the
Eucharist begins to take on importance due to the fact that Christ
Himself stated that it is entirely dependent upon man's development
of a relationship between Him and God (cf. John 6:56-58). Therefore,
the Eucharist comes to the forefront of the Christian question. In
order to prove that transubstantiation is possible, laying out an
argument that any change at all for man becomes important. In his
Summa Theologiae, St. Thomas Aquinas questions, “Whether the Body
of Christ be in This Sacrament in Very Truth, or Merely As in a
Figure or Sign?”2
(III Q. 74, Art. 1). This serious question leads us to his reply
which states, “Christ's true body and blood in this sacrament
cannot be detected by sense, nor understanding, but by faith alone,
which rests upon Divine authority. Hence, on Luke 22:19: 'This is My
body which shall be delivered up for you,' Cyril says: 'Doubt not
whether this be true; but take rather the Saviour's words with faith;
for since He is the Truth, He lieth not.”3
The Scriptures do not speak of this moment solely in one Gospel, but
rather it is found in multiple parts of the Gospel message. Thus,
St. Cyril's claim holds very firm that if Christ is not held true to
his statement, then the doubters declare Christ a liar. A god who
lies is not God at all, because he would not be true (a
transcendental).
Continuing
with the argument, Aquinas points out that the Lord would not leave
us as He stated (cf. Mk 16:8): “Yet meanwhile in our pilgrimage He
does not deprive us of His bodily presence; but unites us with
Himself in this sacrament through the truth of His body and blood.
Hence (John 6:57) he says: 'He that eateth My flesh, and drinketh My
blood, abideth in Me, and I in him.' Hence this sacrament is the
sign of supreme charity, and the uplifter of our hope, from such
familiar union of Christ with us.”4
Again, holding that the Lord is not a liar, a believer accepts the
idea that Christ stated He would never leave us, and promises His
presence amongst us. The Lord does this by means of His Sacraments.
Particularly within the context of the Sacraments of Initiation, by
which one becomes a full member of the Body of Christ, the Church.
Thus,
man, as a soul-body composite must respond in two ways that are
appropriate to him. Abbot Vonier points out St. Thomas Aquinas
believes that “'the linking up which is by faith takes place
through an act of the soul, while the linking up which is by the
sacraments takes place through the use of external things.'”5
Vonier indicates that going through life without faith is entirely
missing why Christ came in the first place. Vonier writes, “Without
this contact of faith we are dead to Christ, the stream of His life
passes us by without entering into us, as a rock in the midst of a
river remains unaffected by the turbulent rush of waters.”6
Thus, man must respond with an assent to faith initially.
Secondarily man responds to faith by deepening it by assenting to the
Word of God, which reveals that “I am the Bread of Life, He Who
eats of my Flesh and drinks of my Blood remains in me and I in him”
(Jn 6:35). The Lord reestablishes the once lost relationship with
man by coming to be with him in the Eucharist.
Pope
Benedict XVI, in his Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation Sacramentum
Caritatis,
states:
Through the sacrament
of the Eucharist Jesus draws the faithful into his 'hour'; he shows
us the bond that he willed to establish between himself and us,
between his own person and the Church. Indeed, in the sacrifice of
the Cross, Christ gave birth to the Church as his Bride and his body.
The Fathers of the Church often meditated on the relationship
between Eve's coming forth from the side of Adam as he slept (cf. Gen
2:21-23) and the coming forth of the new Eve, the Church, from the
open side of Christ sleeping in death: from Christ's pierced side,
John recounts, there came forth blood and water (cf. Jn 19:34), the
symbol of the sacraments.7
Echoing
the ideas previously conveyed, Pope Benedict indicates that man's
origins are fulfilled by Christ on the Cross. God mirror-images His
act of creation by creating again a Church, which He gives life at
that moment. With all humans suffering from the pains of the
original sin, Christ dies on the Cross once, but it must be
transmitted to all. The Sacraments provide the means to transmit
God's saving Grace to the faithful. Thus, Benedict asserts, “Since
the Eucharist makes present Christ's redeeming sacrifice, we must
start by acknowledging that 'there is a causal influence of the
Eucharist at the Church's very origins'”8.
The Eucharist exists as Christ who gives himself to us and
continually builds us up as his as his body. This is all found
within the context of the relationship between the believer and God
through the sacraments He provides.
God
chooses and implements sacraments, because He knows us better than we
even know ourselves. God comprehends that we are physical beings
that perceive reality. Despite that all of creation points to an
“other” that created or caused it. Man constantly seeks that
individual without a chance to perceive it, until the incarnation:
God became man, and therefore becomes tangible. Thus, St. Thomas
Aquinas contends, “this belongs to Christ's love, out of which for
our salvation He assumed a true body of our nature. And because it
is the special feature of friendship to live together with friends,
as the Philosopher says (Ethic. ix), He promises us His bodily
presence as a reward, saying (Mt. 24:28) “Where the body is, there
shall the eagles be gathered together”9.
As the true friend, Christ has never left. He gives us the spirit
to reside in our hearts, but He physically remains as well.
Other Christians support their counter claim by using
Christ's words stating, “For you always have the poor with you, but
you will not always have me” (Mt. 26:11). Within this context, it
is clear that the Lord is speaking of His Passion to come. The
relationship between Christ and the people entirely changes. This
passage shows the necessity of conversion for Israel. As Christ
defends St. Mary Magdalene he concludes the passage by teaching,
“Truly, I say to you, wherever this gospel is preached in the whole
world, what she has done will be told in memory of her” (Mt.
26:16). Our Lord shows that He provides forgiveness not only for the
single prostitute, Mary Magdalene, but also the harlot Israel who
lives in a state of betrayal of the covenant. The Lord comes to
settle the score, and provides Himself as the door to union with God.
His flesh and blood serve to be the food of the faithful according
to His Words.
Most
importantly, other Christians seem to ride off the cultural context
of this table-fellowship of the Lord. Many Protestants present the
Lord in a way that makes it seem that all Christ desired was to sit
down together at a table, eat, and enjoy the company. The Lord's
mission includes this aspect, but it is not the end of the whole
action. Dr. Scott Hahn states, “for in the culture that extended
from Jeremiah to Jesus a covenant accomplished more than any
testament could. In fact, a covenant was that
culture. It was the bond that constituted Israel's law, liturgy and
life”10.
The profundity that God establishes a covenant with Israel that
creates a culture of covenant shows that with the Christ's Mission He
too shares in this covenant, but now has come to reveal it more
deeply. Thus, the First Letter to the Corinthians indicates that
the Church was not simply a Church of Word, but of Word and
Sacrament. Paul expresses that Jesus “also [took] the cup, after
supper, saying, 'This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this,
as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me'” (1 Cor. 11:25).
Covenant, a word rooted with meaning, represents a
whole divine pedagogy. The Lord states His terms extremely
intentionally. As good and faithful Jews, the apostles would have
understood that when Christ was establishing a new covenant there
would be a role, a form and a sign. The apostles would have
understood full well that the Lord was presenting Himself in the same
way that God presented His Messages to the Fathers of Israel. Christ
exists as the High Priest, the God-Man Who is both of the Davidic
Line and also as God Himself. The form of God's covenant between His
People presents itself by the Church, the Body of Christ. Thirdly,
pointing to the importance of this defense, the Lord makes His sign
the Eucharist: God's Presence amongst and with us always.
Thus,
the Lord presents Himself, within the context of His
culture-religion, established by His Father. Christ does not simply
make this a moment of history, but rather extends it to all of
salvation history. The Lord does not limit Himself, while
maintaining the free will of His beloved. Therefore, Pope Benedict
points out that “God's presence in the word and his presence in the
Eucharist belong together, inseparably. The eucharistic Lord is
himself the living Word. Only if we are living in the sphere of
God's Word can we properly comprehend and properly receive the gift
of the Eucharist”11.
According to the world-view of Christianity, the life of a Christian
does not compartmentalize actions and participation in Church.
Rather, the Christian sanctifies and brings God's Presence into the
world by his/her life and can not separate themselves any longer:
they are forever changed.
Although
Roman Catholicism has remained true to these teachings, many
Protestants, like the early Christians in the Gospel, turn away from
Our Lord due to this teaching. For example, Martin Luther states,
“It is real bread and real wine in which the true flesh and true
blood of Christ are found, not less than as those people think who
describe them as their accidents”12.
Going on, Luther declares that the transubstantiation is “without
foundation in Scripture and reason”13.
Luther was adamant on believing that the bread was both Christ's
body and bread simultaneously. Despite his attempts to be true to
reason and faith, the argument stands on neither the feet of reason
or faith. It cannot be found within the context of Scripture without
interpretation leading in that direction. Additionally, as for its
validity in faith, then it seems that Luther doubts our Lord's
statement of the term “is”. When “Esse” Himself utters that
it is, it simply exists as such, and that is that. Genesis indicates
that God made creation from nothing and assigns it meaning.
Therefore, when Christ, as the God-Man declares the bread to be His
Body it is. Secondarily, if Luther is claiming that something is two
things simultaneously, then one can not comprehend anything verily.
Just because something does not look or taste like something,
external qualities, does not mean that substantially it is not
something else. As Aquinas points out well in his great prayer the
Tantum Ergo, senses fail the faithful frequently. Thus, Luther,
fundamentally, questions God's truth, and ironically possesses a
“faith” not even rooted in Scripture itself, but rather his
personal interpretation of Scripture.
Thus,
as Scott Hahn professes, “The Word was made flesh, and dwelt among
us, and gave his flesh to be our life, Wisdom's Banquet.
[Christians] live the dream of the prophets and seers, [Christians]
live the promise of the divine covenant, [Christians] are given the
bread of angels, whenever [the Church consumes] the Word”14.
Christ has provided Himself in this form as a presence that can not
be forgotten or taken advantage of. Thus, God manifests His meaning
for us to be one with Him, which He accomplishes by His Sacraments.
Truly, the Lord presents His intention for us to be in relation with
Him so closely that we become part of His Body as His Spouse. The
presence of the Blessed Sacrament is the Heart of the Church, for it
is His Heart. It beats at the center of every Catholic Church and
gives us life as His Body. Just as the body is contingent upon the
heart for life, so too the Christian is contingent upon the Eucharist
for life in the Church.
Bibliography
Aquinas,
St. Thomas. Summa
Theologiae.
Fathers of the English Dominican Province.
Hahn,
Scott. CONSUMING
THE WORD.
New York: Crown Publishing Group, 2013.
SACRAMENTUM
CARITATIS.
Washington, D.C.: Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 2007.
Vonier,
Abbot. A
KEY TO THE DOCTRINE OF THE EUCHARIST.
Bethesda: Zaccheus Press, 1925.
3
Ibid.
4Ibid.
6Ibid.
8Ibid.
12
Marc
Lienhard, LUTHER:
WITNESS TO JESUS CHRIST,
(Minneapolis: Augsburg Publishing House, 1982), 127.
13
Ibid., 127.
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