Jesus said to them,
“Amen, amen, I say to you,
unless you eat the Flesh of the Son of Man and drink his Blood,
you do not have life within you.
Whoever eats my Flesh and drinks my Blood
has eternal life,
and I will raise him on the last day.
For my Flesh is true food,
and my Blood is true drink.
Whatever the individual Christian might think about Jesus's words in John 6, they cannot ignore their import. "Amen, Amen" is as close as the Lord ever comes to swearing. And the words that follow are deadly serious.
Opinions vary among the Christian churches as to what they mean. Although many American Catholics -- more Protestant than Catholic in their formation and imagination -- deny their significance, the Magisterium of the Church takes the words as literally as possible: "The bread is flesh, the wine is blood!" We have stories of bleeding hosts and "miracles of the Eucharist" which are the object of pilgrimages and touted throughout the world.
During the Mass everyone literally eats from the paten and drinks (preferably) from one cup. Personally, I don't see how one's scruples about germs should prevent one from drinking from the proferred chalice. I find more references to drinking, cup, wine, and grapes in the New Testament than I find to eat, bread, and wheat. The early Church spoke more enthusiastically of drinking his blood than of eating his flesh.
Jesus's declaration is critically important and intentionally divisive, and John tells us that many disciples left him upon hearing it. Believe it! Or go away; you don't belong to me. And many left.
Saint Peter spoke for us when, expressing both bewilderment and conviction, he said,
"Master, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe and are convinced that you are the Holy One of God.”
And Jesus replied with deep satisfaction in his chosen disciples, and with great distress, “Did I not choose you twelve? Yet is not one of you a devil?”
Belief in the Eucharist is more than an opinion about transubstantiation versus consubstantiation or transignification. It's about the willingness to take Jesus's words very seriously, so seriously as to go to die with him. Or to lay down one's life for a fellow Christian. Over the centuries many Roman, Orthodox, and Protestant Christians have followed that summons.
Nor do we expect the killing of martyrs to end before his Second Coming. Should that happen, we'll know God has abandoned his unfaithful people. We'll have lost the Spirit of the martyrs and will be no longer worthy of the Name.
The recently restored right of the entire congregation to share the Blood after the Pandemic signals not a singular privilege returned but an awakening awareness of the crisis of Jesus. There has always been animosity toward his Name, his Presence, and his Lordship. Many bristle upon hearing,
There is no salvation through anyone else, nor is there any other name under heaven given to the human race by which we are to be saved.”
But the Eucharist is a belief and a hope we're eager to share with friends and foes alike. Life in Christ still makes sense to us. It has purpose and meaning. We understand pain, grief, and disappointment; as well as shame, regret, and humiliation in its light. We have no need for mind-killing entertainment, numbing chemicals, violence, or suicide. We love life, even with its all-encompassing view from the cross.
No comments:
Post a Comment
I love to write. This blog helps me to meditate on the Word of God, and I hope to make some contribution to our contemplations of God's Mighty Works.
Ordinarily, I write these reflections two or three weeks in advance of their publication. I do not intend to comment on current events.
I understand many people prefer gender-neutral references to "God." I don't disagree with them but find that language impersonal, unappealing and tasteless. When I refer to "God" I think of the One whom Jesus called "Abba" and "Father", and I would not attempt to improve on Jesus' language.
You're welcome to add a thought or raise a question.