Communion

Introduction

Call it Communion, Holy Communion, the Blessed Sacrament, the Eucharist, the Last Supper, the Lord’s Supper, etc. It all refers to a specific Christian rite, Sacrament, or Ordinance. Communion is depicted in the Synoptic Gospels of Matthew 26:26-29, Mark 14:22-25 and Luke 22:13-20, where Jesus was presiding over the Last Supper and was celebrating Passover with His disciples before his crucifixion. This paper is not an exegesis of that event. My concern is that this exercise is often misunderstood by many and is no longer performed with the awesome dignity, reverence, and spiritual awareness it deserves. The practice is slowly becoming obscure.

A very complete description of this rite can be seen on the following website click here.

First a Few Definitions

Sacrament

There are seven in the Catholic Church: Baptism, Communion (Eucharist), Confirmation, Reconciliation (Confession), Ordination (into Priesthood), Marriage, and, Extreme Unction (anointing of the sick).

Transubstantiation

The Christian doctrine is that the bread and wine of Communion become the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ. The items are transformed from the physical (bread and wine) to the Spiritual (the actual Body and Blood of Jesus Christ).

Communion

Communion is a sacrament instituted by Jesus Christ at the Last Supper. It is then that He broke bread, gave it to His disciples, and said: “This is My Body…”. Similarly, He took wine, raised it to heaven, blessed it, and, gave it to His disciples saying “This is My Blood…” It is the foundation of the New Covenant.

My Introduction to Communion

My introduction to Holy Communion was in the Catholic Church on May 18^th, 1950. That was the date celebrated as my “First Holy Communion”. I wore a white ribbon around my left arm. I was 8 years old and was taught the significance of God and His ways by nuns via the Catholic Catechism, a summary of Catholic doctrine much of which was committed to memory before being able to receive. Fasting for twenty-four hours along with confession was also required before receiving. While receiving my first Communion I genuflected before the alter, prayerfully folded my hands, and bowed my head as I slowly approached the alter. I was not allowed to touch the host with my hands but only with my tongue because the tongue is the most sensitive organ in my body and is the only organ by which I may proclaim the name of Jesus, bowing my head slightly as I say His name. Remember, to me, this was the actual Body and Blood of Jesus. Today I ask, “Where has this reverence and holiness gone”? My wife and I still long to go to the Catholic Church for Communion feeling that they are the only Church that does it right. All other denominational and nondenominational churches we have seen and attended just don’t get it.

What is Communion

First, I believe that Holy Communion is a renewal of our covenant with Jesus Christ. If you read the history of blood covenants you quickly realize that there is no blood covenant or testament without the shedding of blood. There is no testator unless the testator dies. Jesus’s covenant with us was a blood covenant whereby He sacrificially shed His blood and died for the forgiveness of our sins.

“Indeed, under the law, almost everything is purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins.” (Hebrews 9:22)

He shed His blood and gave His body so that we might be open to eternal life. This was a new blood sacrifice or covenant that negated all the other sacrifices that date back from Christ to the fall of Adam. This sacrifice was a very Holy, very significant event that we celebrate today through communion.

Is Communion Symbolic Only or Is It Real

This is what Catholics Believe

Catholic Priest breaths over the host (bread) and wine he says “This is my Body – Hoc est Enim Corpus Meun” and then “For This is the Chalice of my Blood” – Hic Est Enim Caliz Sanguinis Mei”

At the moment of speaking these words the bread (host) and blood (wine) become the actual body and blood of Jesus Christ. Hence the foundation of the enormous devotion for the Eucharist. Believing this, wouldn’t you?

Are these words spoken only as a remembrance?

The following information (numbering 1 – 5) can be found here.

1. The Early Church Believed It

“Writing to the church at Smyrna, a major Christian center in Asia Minor, Ignatius condemned heretics who denied that Christ had an actual physical body… To refute them, Ignatius wrote “They [the heretics] even absent themselves from the Eucharist and public prayers [cf. Acts 2:42], because they will not admit that the Eucharist is the flesh of our Savior Jesus Christ which suffered for our sins and which the Father in his goodness afterward raised again.”

“And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.” (Acts 2:42) ESV

I’ve always thought that if anyone had a chance of getting it right, it was the early church. After all, they were the ones who heard it straight from the source. Take Ignatius, for example (author of the quote above). Ignatius was the first bishop of Antioch (the city where Jesus’ followers were first called Christians) and he studied under the apostle John (the one who wrote the Gospel of John and Revelation). I’d say he would probably be a pretty reliable source! And yet, here he was writing about the real presence of the Eucharist as though it were common knowledge only 10 to 15 years after the apostle John’s death! That’s not a lot of time to get the message mixed up. You don’t just have to take his word for it though. All of the early church fathers believed in the real presence of the Lord in the Eucharist. The doctrine was never seriously questioned until the 11th century. (Hmm…. I’ll bet you didn’t know that.) Given the choice between what pastors say today and the beliefs of the first (and second, and third…) century church… well that’s a pretty strong argument. And it’s not the only one.

 2. The Jews Couldn’t Accept It

 Another thing I never realized: The “this is my body… this is my blood” passage you read in Luke… isn’t the only time when Jesus talks about being the bread of life. (I won’t retype the entire passage here, but I strongly encourage you to look up and read John 6:22-71). In it, Jesus has a lengthy discussion with the Jews in which he compares the manna the Israelites ate in the desert and the bread of eternal life that God offers today. The Jews are understandably very confused, but Jesus just keeps repeating the same thing over and over again.

“Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me will never hunger, and whoever believes in me will never thirst.” (John 6:35) KJV

“I am the bread of life. Your ancestors ate the manna in the desert, but they died; this is the bread that comes down from heaven so that one may eat it and not die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven; whoever eats this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world.” (John 6:48-510 KJV)

“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. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and I in him.’” (John 6:53-56) KJV

 But where it gets interesting is the Jews’ reaction after the fact. In verse 66, it records that 

“many [of] his disciples returned to their former way of life and no longer accompanied him.” (John 6:66) KJV

Would they leave over a mere symbol? Seems doubtful. So I’m guessing that the Jewish people knew Jesus was being literal, even if they didn’t understand it.

 3. Jesus’s Use of the Greek Word “Trogon”

While having the ability to read the Bible in English is wonderful; it does come with some limitations. One of which is the fact that some things are lost in translation. What you DON’T notice when reading the passage above is that when Jesus talks about eating, he is using two separate verbs. At first, he uses the Greek word “phagon” which is the normal Greek word for “to eat.” Partway through the passage, however, he suddenly switches to the word “trogon,” which means to crunch or gnaw. Jesus wasn’t telling them to “partake” or “consume.” He was saying they had to crunch, gnaw or chew. (Kind of hard to “crunch” on a symbol… but you can try!) Furthermore, the tense of the word “trogon” implies that this is an action that will take place continuously over time–not as a one-time event.

4. The Eucharist Comes with a Strong Warning

Fast forward to 1 Corinthians, and you’ll find this strongly-worded passage:

“Therefore, whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord unworthily will have to answer for the body and blood of the Lord… Anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment on himself. That is why many among you are ill and infirm, and a considerable number are dying.” (1 Corinthians 11:27, 29-30) KJV

 Since when do mere symbols come with death penalties?

5. Eucharistic Miracles

Before a few weeks ago, I never even knew there was such a thing as Eucharistic miracles. At first, I was very skeptical–because how could you even prove something like this? But from what I can tell at least SOME of the miracles are VERY well-documented, scientific, and hard to dispute.

If we peruse the internet and YouTube alone you will find any answers you need to satisfy your interest in the Eucharist. But the real truth is not on the internet or YouTube. For the truth, we can only follow God’s Word and His revelation to us. What is He revealing to you?

What Should We Believed

This is my take on the Eucharist. If you believe in Transubstantiation bless you. I see no sin here. You are giving God the benefit of the doubt. I think you should do this with all such questions. If you do not believe in Transubstantiation you should approach Communion in the same manner as though it were true. Why? Because the importance of this covenant is justified by its significance. Just think of it. Jesus did shed His blood and His body was beaten for our Salvation, and much more. He instituted this covenant to bind us to Him in an everlasting relationship. He said to do this in remembrance of me. Can you project your faith into Transubstantiation? If so, it is as you believe.

Remembrance in this circumstance does not mean having Communion just so that you will remember. The whole Church is based on His death and resurrection. I don’t think we will forget. Jesus is saying remember to eat My Flesh and drink My Blood in this manner so that I will be a part of you and you will become a part of Me. This is an answer to Jesus’ priestly prayer in John

“…that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me.… made known to them your name, and I will continue to make it known, that the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I in them.” (John 17:21, 26) ESV

Jesus instituted this Covenant at a very significant time in His life for a very significant purpose. It must be treated reverently and as being Holy. Certainly not only as an afterthought doing it once a month if we think of it.

Conclusion

If everyone believed in Transubstantiation what an awesome change that would make within the Church. But, consider this, whether or not Transubstantiation is true, whether or not you believe, don’t you think partaking of the Eucharist should receive the same respect? This is the New Testament Covenant by which we receive our Salvation. Is there anything greater than this in the universe? I think not. Then why do Churches seem to put it on the back burner and perform it once a month or whenever they think of it? And, when it is performed, why is it done in such a haphazard manner? When the early Church started doing this they were called down and admonished severely by the apostles.

“Now, on this next matter, I wish I could commend you, but I cannot because when you meet together as a church family it is doing more harm than good! I’ve been told many times that when you meet as a congregation, divisions and cliques emerge—and to some extent, this doesn’t surprise me. Differences of opinion are unavoidable, yet they will reveal which ones among you truly have God’s approval. When all of your house churches gather as one church family, you are not properly celebrating the Lord’s Supper.” (1 Corinthians 11:17) TPT

Wake up Church! This is not just a ritual. Whether we believe or not, this is the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ, the New Covenant, that we celebrate. Do it worthily and properly for you are celebrating the Lord’s death until He comes again. The alternative is to suffer the consequences.

“For this reason, whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in the wrong spirit will be guilty of dishonoring the body and blood of the Lord. So let each individual first evaluate his attitude and only then eat the bread and drink the cup. For continually eating and drinking with a wrong spirit will bring judgment upon yourself by not recognizing the body (of Christ). This insensitivity is why many of you are weak, chronically ill, and some even dying. (1 Corinthians 27 – 30) TPT

Enough Said

“Your words were found, and I ate them, and your words became to me a joy and the delight of my heart, for I am called by your name, O LORD, God of hosts.” (Jeremiah 15:16) ESV