I found the clearest explanation for this practice in the gospel of John:
53Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you.
54Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day.
55For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed.
56He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him.
57As the living Father hath sent me, and I live by the Father: so he that eateth me, even he shall live by me.
58This is that bread which came down from heaven: not as your fathers did eat manna, and are dead: he that eateth of this bread shall live for ever.
-- John 6:53-58
These verses, looked at literally, seem to confirm the orthodox Christian belief that one should et the body/blood of Christ in order to be saved. But is this what Christ really meant? I believe a clue to what the "bread" he talks about is can be found in some preceding and succeeding verses.
35And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.
36But I said unto you, That ye also have seen me, and believe not.
37All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.
38For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me.
39And this is the Father's will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day.
40And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day.
-- John 6:35-40
and
63It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.
-- John 6:63
Once we take all these verses together, I think it becomes clear that by "bread" is meant spiritual food, the teachings of God. And as Jesus clearly says above, "the flesh profiteth nothing" - and so in the earlier verses when he talks about people "eating his flesh", he must mean it metaphorically, not literally. It is therefore not his body/flesh that is the bread people are meant to eat, but his teachings and words that they are meant to imbibe.
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3 comments:
It would be interesting to have a conversation with some Orthodox Christians about this. I think the Catholics also believe that the wafer and wine are actually Christ's body and blood.
when you start messin' with the Transubstantiation, you are in deep waters with the Christian believer. Interpreting parables is one thing, but to deal with one of the 3 foundations, Check the Apostles' Creed). Basically the Christian will say, Whose authority do you pick at the Bible?" If it is your own authority, then
Who are you?"
You are just a nobody, compared to the Christ
If one is going to pick at the tapestry of the Bible then taking out one thread and then another will unravel the whole thing into a loose collection of verses. And this argument was fairly impressive for me at the time. I wasn't going to try to reinterpret the Bible just because of a few questions. Who was going to pay me while I figured to take 5-10 years to do it. And for what? And who would believe me?
Only a Prophet can authoritatively challenge or change the words of another Prophet. in front of the hearts of their followers.
If you're Catholic, it's even considered a transgression to participate in Communion with a Christian that is not Catholic.
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