Euchrist or Communion?

 

 

Evangelical Theology and Liberal Theology collide. Evangelicals believe the Bible is to be taken literally until it can't be, an example being the Dragon in Revelation blank. Liberal Theologians believe everything in Bible is symbolism. What is intriguing is that Evangelicals who see most of Scripture as literal do not believe the Communion Meal, The Wine and Bread or Blood and Body of Christ is literally our Lord's blood and body. In contrast Catholics take the Communion as Literal and call it the Eucharist and through ceremony the wine and bread are transformed into Christ's blood and body. There is an additional view as well, that Jesus's Communion was the Passover Meal and that the wine cup he offered of His blood was the third cup in Passover called, "the Cup of Suffering" which comes up again in Gethesename when Jesus says, "If it be possible Father let this cup pass from me, but not my will, but your Will be done." ( Matthew 26:39, Luke 22:42).

As believers we are commanded by Christ to keep the Communion, "do this in remembrance of me." (Luke 22:19). While this is strictly observed as sacrament by the Catholic Church, most Protestant churches do it every third Sunday or occasionally. There is another mention of the Communion, where people actually were getting sick and dying!: "For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until He comes. Therefore whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner, shall be guilty of the body and the blood of the Lord. But a man must examine himself, and in so doing he is to eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For he who eats and drinks, eats and drinks judgment to himself if he does not judge the body rightly. For this reason many among you are weak and sick, and have died.." (1 Corinthians 11:26-34). This is why the clause of confession or praying (self account, repenting, going to someone you have offense with) before receiving the Body and Blood is done in churches.

Does the bread become Christ's body and does the wine become His blood? This is the argument between believers on both sides. For those who see it as the sacrament of Eucharist, it is indeed Christ's Body and Blood, but for most Protestants it is symbolism and remembrance, not transmuted victuals and vessels. To get a clear picture we must go back further, when Jesus bring up his body and blood even before the Communion in the Upper room. It says in the Scriptures:
"26
Jesus answered, "Very truly I tell you, you are looking for me, not because you saw the signs I performed but because you ate the loaves and had your fill.
Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For on him God the Father has placed his seal of approval."
28
Then they asked him, "What must we do to do the works God requires?"
29
Jesus answered, "The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent." 30
So they asked him, "What sign then will you give that we may see it and believe you? What will you do?
31
Our ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written: 'He gave them bread from heaven to eat.'"
32
Jesus said to them, "Very truly I tell you, it is not Moses who has given you the bread from heaven, but it is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven.
33
For the bread of God is the bread that comes down from heaven and gives life to the world."
"Sir," they said, "always give us this bread."
35
Then Jesus declared, "I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.
36
But as I told you, you have seen me and still you do not believe.
37
All those the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away.
38
For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me.
39
And this is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all those he has given me, but raise them up at the last day.
40
For my Father's will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day."
41
At this the Jews there began to grumble about him because he said, "I am the bread that came down from heaven."
42
They said, "Is this not Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How can he now say, 'I came down from heaven'?"
43
"Stop grumbling among yourselves," Jesus answered.
44
"No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws them, and I will raise them up at the last day.
45
It is written in the Prophets: 'They will all be taught by God.' Everyone who has heard the Father and learned from him comes to me.
46
No one has seen the Father except the one who is from God; only he has seen the Father.
47
Very truly I tell you, the one who believes has eternal life.
48
I am the bread of life.
49
Your ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness, yet they died.
50
But here is the bread that comes down from heaven, which anyone may eat and not die.
51
I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats this bread will live forever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world."
52
Then the Jews began to argue sharply among themselves, "How can this man give us his flesh to eat?"
53
Jesus said to them, "Very truly I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you.
54
Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day.
55
For my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink.
56
Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in them.
57
Just as the living Father sent me and I live because of the Father, so the one who feeds on me will live because of me.
58
This is the bread that came down from heaven. Your ancestors ate manna and died, but whoever feeds on this bread will live forever."
59
He said this while teaching in the synagogue in Capernaum.
60
On hearing it, many of his disciples said, "This is a hard teaching. Who can accept it?"
61
Aware that his disciples were grumbling about this, Jesus said to them, "Does this offend you?
62
Then what if you see the Son of Man ascend to where he was before!
63
The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing. The words I have spoken to you--they are full of the Spirit and life.
64
Yet there are some of you who do not believe." For Jesus had known from the beginning which of them did not believe and who would betray him.
65
He went on to say, "This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless the Father has enabled them."
66
From this time many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him.
67
"You do not want to leave too, do you?" Jesus asked the Twelve.
68
Simon Peter answered him, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.
69
We have come to believe and to know that you are the Holy One of God."
KJV/69And we believe and are sure that thou art that Christ, the Son of the living God." (John 6:29-69).

A very lengthy passage I know. But we need it for the context. If I was to merely quote the parts about His body and blood, we would miss that Jesus is talking to a crowd wanting Him to provide them Manna or bread from heaven. Jesus has already fed the Five and Four Thousand peoples. They follow Him and want Him to produce more. Verse 55 is where Catholics get the Eucharist, that Jesus says, "for my flesh is real food, and my blood real drink." Its convincing to take it literal, but is Jesus speaking strictly in literal terms? The Jews wanting bread to eat (literal) and had come after Jesus seeking food, so Jesus responds like a good Rabbi about eternal bread and wine. But does Jesus mean for his disciples to become cannibals?! Obviously not, because later at the Last Supper Jesus explains it by saying when "breaking the bread, "this is my body broken for you, then he took the cup and said, "this is my blood of the New covenant poured out for the remission of sins." (Matthew 26:28, Luke 22:19-20). This final piece of information at the Last Supper helps us understand that Christ is talking about His Death and Resurrection. Also in verse 51 Jesus says this "This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world." So it becomes clear that Jesus is talking about His sacrificial Death on the cross for the sins of all people. As St. Peter said, "For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit," (1 Peter 3:18) and "He himself bore our sins" in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; "by his wounds you have been healed." (1 Peter 2:24).

I think the case leans more toward Communion and falls more along what the Apostle Paul says, "do this in remembrance of His death until He comes again," (1 Corinthians 11:26). From evidence gleamed from Scriptures is looks to me that the Eucharist is really symbolic, but it does have spiritual overtones. It has been proven that taking Communion has an effect, it drives away demonic powers and it can make someone who is unforgiving sickly. My goal is not to debunk what Catholics believe, they can be convincing with the literal approach of verse 55 of John 6. But I see more symbolic spiritual partaking when We believe and Remember through the Elements of Bread and Wine. I also believe the Jewish Roots of Communion are valid, because Jesus' meal in Upperoom was at Passover and Jesus was Jew (see my post "Jesus is a Jew"). It should be noted that in Passover tradition one of the three Matzos/unleavened bread is wrapped up and hidden for children and to this day Jews do this. But Jesus Christ took that third Matzo and explained to disciples by breaking it and saying,  "This is My body, broken for you."