If one topic has caused an excellent divide between the high churches and low churches of Christianity, it’s the subject of Holy Communion and what it’s. Holy Communion just isn’t only essential in Christianity, it comes directly from the words of Christ to his disciples before his crucifixion (Matt. 26:26-29; Mark 14:22-24; Luke 22:19-20; 1 Cor. 11:23-25).
While communion is practiced by all denominations, recurrently practicing it and calling it holy communion (or the more proper term, the Holy Eucharist) is particular to certain Christian traditions. It is practiced by Catholics, Orthodox, and a few Classical Protestants (i.e., Anglicans and Lutherans). So, what’s the Holy Eucharist? Why is it shown such high reverence? What makes it a sacrament? For those that aren’t aware of what meaning, we are going to discuss it today.
Before I do, I would like to make an observation: It is very important that inside disagreements, we treat our brothers and sisters in Christ with care, including how we represent them or their beliefs. To deliberately misrepresent them is to be un-Christlike, uncharitable, and dishonest. Not only has this grow to be a hot-button topic, however it has been one which has resulted in Christians placing stereotypes on other Christians (i.e., Evangelicals claiming Catholics are cannibals). So, with that out of the best way, allow us to begin.
What Is the Holy Eucharist?
The Holy Eucharist is what high Christian churches gather for on Sundays at Mass.
As we see in Matthew, Mark, and Luke, Christ commands that we partake within the Holy Eucharist in remembrance of him. Sounds straight to the purpose, right? Well, it goes slightly deeper than that. It just isn’t only a call to the past but a call to be present in Holy Eucharist with Christ. As John M. Grondeslki of Catholic Answers puts it,
“Jesus enjoined his apostles to ‘do that in memory of me’—not as an afterthought, not as a ‘hey, Jesus did this, and isn’t it nice?’ No, ‘memory” here in a Jewish context has a selected meaning. It is a making present of the thing being remembered here and now.
The Last Supper was a Passover meal. The Passover prefigures the Eucharist. When God institutes the Passover, he instructs Moses that Israel is to maintain this “memorial” perpetually (Exod. 12:14) because every generation of Jews stands along with Moses and Aaron and the Jews of Egypt with whom God made this covenant. Even today, through the Passover meal, the youngest child asks, ‘Why is that this night different from all others?’ Take note of the verb and adjective: the kid does not ask, ‘why was that night different,’ but ‘why is that this night different?’ Before Almighty God, every Jew who was, is, or shall be was a part of that Passover.”
Because of how essential these words are, how seriously they exhort the followers of Jesus to take the bread and wine, high-church Christians have the Holy Eucharist every Sunday and make it the important focus every Sunday.
How Do Different High Church Christians Practice the Holy Eucharist?
Unlike pieces of bread or crackers utilized in some Evangelical circles, the Holy Eucharist is one in every of two things. Holy Eucharist is unleavened bread within the Catholic/Classical Protestant realm, hence why it is incredibly thin. The reason for this will be traced back to Luke 12 and 1 Corinthians 5:6-8. While it’s unclear as as to whether Christ had unleavened bread within the last supper with the 12 Disciples, it’s implied given it was the feast of Unleavened Bread (Matt. 26:17-19; Mark 14:12-17; Luke 22:7-13).
However, the Holy Eucharist is yeast-risen bread within the Eastern and Coptic Orthodox realms. This is partly attributable to the dominion of heaven spreading like yeast (Matt. 13:33; Lk. 13:20). They, too, have a look at the passages that Catholics use, similar to Luke 12, but they’ve the attitude that it was less about leavened bread and more in regards to the Pharisees.
Whether one uses leavened or unleavened bread, they each agree on what the Holy Eucharist is: the true presence of Christ’s body and blood. Now, for many who usually are not as acquainted with this belief or who seem disturbed, don’t worry. I, too, was once frightened and weirded out by this claim, but after studying further, not only did I come to respect this belief but embrace it as well.
Is the Body of Christ Literally within the Holy Eucharist?
This belief comes from the context of John 6 and 1 Corinthians 11. In John 6:22-70, Jesus is confronted by followers about his claim to eat his body and drink his blood. As he says directly, “Unless you eat my flesh and drink my blood, you will have no life in you.” Now, before moving forward, we want to deal with one thing. Yes, Jesus spoke in metaphors, similar to when he said he was the door (Jn. 10:9-16), the vine (Jn. 15:1-15), and so forth. So why do high-church Christians imagine his statement is literal as an alternative of metaphorical?
To start, Jesus never corrected himself when confronted about how hard of a saying it was. Instead, he goes deeper and doesn’t stop to make clear. As Bishop Robert Barron from Word on Fire puts it, “The blood was seen as life, and life belonged to God, and so it was strictly forbidden for a Jew to eat flesh with blood. And here comes Jesus now, talking to a Jewish audience, which suggests not only eating animal’s flesh with the blood, but his own human flesh with blood. Jesus is given every opportunity to clarify his words . . . as an alternative, he intensifies his language, ‘amen, amen, I’m saying to you . . . unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you will have no life in you . . . that’s the biblical ground to this ancient catholic belief, that Christ is admittedly, truly, and substantially present within the bread and wine.”
To further this standpoint, we even have the writings of Paul, who says to look at yourselves before partaking within the Holy Eucharist and that some have even died in doing so (1 Cor. 17-34). This will be further seen within the Apostolic Fathers (aka the Apostles’ disciples). I even have provided dates to focus on that these statements were composed only a generation after the apostles.
“We call this food Eucharist, and nobody else is permitted to partake of it, except one who believes our teaching to be true and who has been washed within the washing which is for the remission of sins and regeneration [i.e., has received baptism] and is thereby living as Christ enjoined. For not as common bread nor common drink will we receive these; but since Jesus Christ our Savior was made incarnate by the word of God and had each flesh and blood for our salvation, so too, as we have now been taught, the food which has been made into the Eucharist by the Eucharistic prayer set down by him, and by the change of which our blood and flesh is nurtured, is each the flesh and the blood of that incarnated Jesus” – St. Justin Martyr, First Apology 66 (written circa A.D. 151)
“‘Eat my flesh,’ [Jesus] says, ‘and drink my blood.’ The Lord supplies us with these intimate nutrients, he delivers over his flesh and pours out his blood, and nothing is lacking for the expansion of his children” – St. Clement, The Instructor of Children 1:6:43:3 (written circa A.D. 191)
“I haven’t any taste for corruptible food nor for the pleasures of this life. I desire the bread of God, which is the flesh of Jesus Christ, who was of the seed of David; and for drink I desire his blood, which is love incorruptible” – St. Ignatius, Letter to the Romans 7:3 (written circa A.D. 110)
So now we have now the context of the Holy Eucharist. What does Jesus say directly about it? How does it institute it?
What Does It Mean that the Holy Eucharist is a Sacrament?
As I discussed in a previous article about infant baptism, a sacrament is an outward sign of inward grace. Two of the seven sacraments are the primary amongst equals: holy baptism and holy eucharist. This is attributable to Christ himself implementing each during his earthly ministry. Furthermore, it’s the central act of worship, as mentioned earlier. Because of this, the one individuals who can consecrate the Holy Eucharist because the body and blood of Christ are ordained priests and bishops since it was only the 12 apostles who were present with Christ on the Last Supper, and it is usually through them that there’s apostolic succession. To paraphrase, when a person is prayed over by the “laying on of hands” (Acts 8:14-19), they’re then consecrated through the sacrament of holy orders, which supplies them the authority through Christ to consecrate and distribute holy Eucharist among the many faithful and to himself.
How Should Protestants Approach the Holy Eucharist?
There is truthfully so way more than will be covered, and the subject of the Holy Eucharist will be found with a few of our writers here at Christianity.com. What I would like to finish on is that this: Eucharist just isn’t only a Catholic practice. While many Protestants hold to holy communion being symbolic and even spiritual presence, many Protestants, most notably Lutherans, Anglicans, and even Methodists. This just isn’t simply a “Catholic vs. Protestants” topic but one about Christianity’s roots.
When approaching holy communion in a discussion, my encouragement is to ask and research what it truly is and why your friend or member of the family believes what they imagine. Even in case you don’t come to just accept the Holy Eucharist because the literal body and blood of Christ, it is necessary to respect it nonetheless since it is what Christ instituted, and it’s what Christ is named us to do often.
Photo Credit: Unsplash/JamesColeman
Trey Soto holds a B.A. in Communication Studies from Biola University and an M.A. in Communication Management from the University of Denver. He is a photographer, a author, and a podcast host at T.V. Trey Podcast. You can see more of his work on his Wix portfolio.
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