Tiber River Cafe--Eucharist

Hello, and welcome to the Tiber River Cafe.  My name is Dean Humphreys, today’s topic is the Eucharist, what we Catholics call the Real Presence or communion.

Now, unfortunately there are some Catholics who don’t fully understand what we mean by the Real Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist.  Some Catholics are not clear that the consecrated bread and wine that we receive at each Mass are not only symbols but that the bread and wine, the Eucharist, genuinely and completely changes into the Body and Blood of Jesus, just like Jesus told us in the Scriptures.

So Catholics believe that Jesus, our Lord and Savior, the second person in the Holy Trinity—God himself come down from Heaven in human form—that Jesus is truly and 100% present in the consecrated bread and wine we receive each and every time we attend Mass; that the bread and wine, although it still looks, feels, smells, and tastes like regular bread and wine, have actually and truly become his Body and Blood. 

Catholic Christians do not say that the Eucharist is “like” the body and blood of Jesus, that they are “only symbols”, but rather that the bread and wine “is” the body and blood of Christ—just like Jesus told us in the Gospels.  So let’s take a closer look at what the Bible actually says about this matter.

First we have to remember that God’s word is powerful, His word creates and His word changes things.  In the very beginning of the Bible in the Old Testament, at the very beginning of chapter one verse 3 of the Book of Genesis, we read that God “said” “Let there be light”, and there was light.  God “said” and he created the heavens and the earth, God created everything, and he created us, simply by saying it.  God’s word creates.

In the Book of Exodus, chapter 7 verse 17, we read about the first plague God brought upon the Egyptians to free the Israelites from slavery, and how God “said” to Moses, “this is how you shall know that I am the Lord.  I will strike the water of the river with the staff I hold, and it shall be changed into blood.”  God’s word changes the actual substance, water is changed into blood.  And then later in the Book of Exodus, chapter 16 verse 4, God “said” to Moses, “I will now rain down bread from heaven for you.  Each day the people are to go out and gather their portion; thus will I test them, to see whether they follow my instructions or not.”  God’s word creates food, nourishment, to sustain his people.  Also in the Book of Exodus, chapter 17 verse 5, we read how the Israelites in the desert were thirsty and how God “said” to Moses, “Go over there in front of the people, along with some of the elders of Israel, holding in your hand, as you go, the staff with which you struck the river. I will be standing there in front of you on the rock in Horeb. Strike the rock, and the water will flow from it for the people to drink.”  God’s word creates water through the action of a person.

Likewise in the New Testament we continue to see how God’s word has power to create.  In the Gospel of John at the Wedding of Cana, chapter 2 verse 7, we read that the host of the wedding party was running out of wine and that Jesus told them to, “Fill the jars with water.’ So they filled them to the brim.  Then he told them, ‘Draw some out now and take it to the headwaiter.’  So they took it. And when the headwaiter tasted the water that had become wine . . .”—God’s word again is shown to change the substance, changing the substance of water into wine.  And throughout the Gospel accounts we read over and over again how Jesus performs many miracles, how with his words he heals the sick, restores sight to the blind, casts out evil spirits, and many other miracles, all with the power of his words.

So let’s now spend a few moments talking about the miracles of Jesus.  All four Gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, record various miracles that Jesus performed—curing the sick, giving sight to the blind, making the lame walk, people raised from the dead, casting out evil spirits, to name just a few of the miracles.  But besides the ultimate miracle, which we know is the Resurrection of Jesus, the only other miracle that is recorded in all four Gospels is the multiplication of the bread, the feeding of the multitudes.  All four Gospels record how Jesus took the bread, gave thanks, broke the bread, and gave the bread.  This miracle is in all four Gospels—this must be something pretty important—God is trying to tell us something about this miracle.

Let’s begin with the Gospel of Matthew.  In chapter 15 verse 36, we read how the people were following Jesus, how it was late in the day and there was no food, and we read, “Then he took the seven loaves and the fish, gave thanks, broke the loaves, and gave them to the disciples, who in turn gave them to the crowds. They all ate and were satisfied.”  And we are told that there were leftovers.   In the Gospel of Mark, chapter 8 verse 6, we again read, “Then taking the seven loaves he gave thanks, broke them, and gave them to his disciples to distribute, and they distributed them to the crowd. They also had a few fish. He said the blessing over them and ordered them distributed also.  They ate and were satisfied.”  And there were again leftovers.  In the Gospel of Luke, chapter 9 verse 16, we again read “Then taking the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, he said the blessing over them, broke them, and gave them to the disciples to set before the crowd.  They all ate and were satisfied.”  And once again there were leftovers.  And lastly in the Gospel of John, chapter 6 verse 11, we once again read, “Then Jesus took the loaves, gave thanks, and distributed them to those who were reclining, and also as much of the fish as they wanted.”  And there were leftovers.  Each time Jesus follows the same pattern, Jesus takes the bread, gives thanks, breaks the bread, and then gives the bread to his followers, and all are satisfied; there is repetition, like an academic lesson.

All four Gospels record the miracle of the Resurrection; and all four Gospels record the miracle of the multiplication of the loaves and the feeding of the multitudes, all were satisfied, and there were leftovers.  I think God is really trying to tell us something here.  This is vitally important information and we should pay very close attention to what we are being instructed to do.  We have seen that from the very beginning of the Bible, in the Book of Genesis, and all the way through the New Testament that God’s word has power, the power to create, the power to change, the power to heal, and the power to give life. 

Now let’s also remember that Jesus told his disciples that he would be with them always and that he will bring them with him to heaven for eternity.  In the Gospel of Mark, chapter 18 verse 20, Jesus tells us “For where two or more are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.”  And also in the Gospel of Matthew, in chapter 28 verse 20, after the Resurrection of Jesus, he tells his disciples “And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age.”  Jesus will always be with us, he will never leave us alone.  And Jesus wants us to be with him in heaven.  In the Gospel of John, chapter 14 verse 3, we hear Jesus telling his disciples, “And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back again and take you to myself, so that where I am you also may be.”  Heaven.  Jesus wants us to be in heaven with him.

In the Gospel of John, in the same chapter 6 that we read about the multiplication of the loaves and the feeding of the multitudes, we now read beginning in verse 22, how the people were looking for Jesus because they were hungry and wanted to be fed again.  But now Jesus tells them that he will be their bread, that he is the bread that has come from heaven.  Jesus told them, “Our ancestors ate manna in the desert, as it is written:  ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat (6:31)’”.   Jesus goes on to say, “For the bread of God is that which comes down from heaven and gives life to the world (6:33)”, that his flesh and blood will be their nourishment “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me will never hunger, and whoever believes in me will never thirst (6:35)”—pretty harsh and disturbing words back 2000 years ago and these words are still disturbing today.  But Jesus says it over and over again . . . “I am the bread of life (6:48)” . . . “Your ancestors ate the manna in the desert, but they died; this is the bread that comes 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 (6:49)” . . .  And Jesus says it again that he is the new manna, “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 (6:51).”  Even when the people around him strongly objected what he was saying he continued -- and again, Jesus says, “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 (6:53)” . . . and Jesus says it again, but now he ramps up the words, for now he uses the Greek verb gnaw (like an animal gnawing on a piece of meat) or chew (like an animal chewing on a piece of meat) to really drive home his message , “Whoever eats (chews) my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him on the last day (6:54)” . . . these are very strong and disturbing words from Jesus, but he doesn’t back down and once again he says, “For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink (6:55)” . . . and again, “Whoever eats (chews) my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and I in him (6:56)”; so Jesus promises that he will always be with us . . . and again Jesus says, “Just as the living Father sent me and I have life because of the Father, so also the one who feeds on me will have life because of me (6:57)” . . . then Jesus says, “Unlike your ancestors who ate and still died, whoever eats this bread will live forever (6:58)”.   Eat his flesh and have eternal life, over and over Jesus tells us this.

Again, again, and again, Jesus keeps saying the same thing.  We must eat his flesh and drink his blood.  Pretty strong words, but Jesus did not change his words, even when some of his disciples left . . . “As a result of this, many of his disciples returned to their former way of life and no longer accompanied him (6:66).”

So by now you are probably asking yourself, okay Dean, what does all this have to do with the Eucharist, the bread and wine that we as Catholics believe is the real body and blood of Jesus, the bread and wine we receive each time we attend Mass, the bread and wine that the priest at the altar takes in his hands, says the blessing, breaks it and gives it . . . boy, oh, boy, does that sound familiar?

In the 26^th chapter of Matthew, in the Upper Room at the Passover meal, on the night before Jesus was killed, the Last Supper, we read, “While they were eating, Jesus took bread, said the blessing, broke it, and giving it to his disciples said, ‘Take and eat; this IS my body.’   The same formula that Jesus used in the multiplication of the loaves and the breaking of the bread—he took the bread, said the blessing, broke the bread, and gave the bread now become his body, his flesh, to his disciples.  Then he took a cup, gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, ‘Drink from it, all of you, for this IS my blood of the covenant’; again Jesus uses the pattern of taking the wine, saying the blessing, and giving the wine now become his blood, to his disciples -- Jesus was pulling it all together, this is how he would be with us forever, this is how we would be nourished.   Jesus knows that we are not able to eat human flesh or drink human blood.  But now the bread will be his body, the wine will be his blood.  Although they look and taste like bread and wine because we can eat bread and we can drink wine, that through the action of the priest during Mass, the bread has become the real body of Jesus, the real flesh that we will eat, that we will chew; the wine that we drink has become the real blood of Jesus.

And after the Resurrection of Jesus we read in the Gospel of Luke, chapter 24 verse 30, that on the road of Emmaus how Jesus was walking with two others who didn’t recognize him “but their eyes were prevented from recognizing him.”  Later that day they were gathered around the table, “And it happened that, while he was with them at table, he took bread, said the blessing, broke it, and gave it to them.”  Again Jesus uses the same pattern, taking the bread, saying the blessing, breaking the bread, and giving the bread to his disciples.  “With that their eyes were opened and they recognized him”.    Jesus was recognized in the breaking of the bread, and Jesus will always be present in the bread, the Real Presence, the Eucharist.  In the Book of Acts, chapter 2 verse 42, we read about the early church, how “They devoted themselves to the teaching of the apostles and to the communal life, to the breaking of the bread and to the prayers.”

Jesus is the bread of life, the bread is how he will be with us forever, the bread is how we will have eternal life in heaven.  Bread is real simple, only two basic ingredients are necessary, flour and water.  These basic ingredients are found throughout the world, in every culture, ingredients that even the poorest of societies have access to, bread becomes a truly universal food.

So this is what Catholic Christians believe, and the Catholic Church has believed this truth for the past 2000 years.  The Eucharist is not only a symbol, but we also believe that Jesus is truly present in the Eucharist, the bread and wine.  Sure it still looks, and it still smells, and it still tastes like simple bread and wine, but the reality is that the bread and wine have become the real body of Jesus and real blood of Jesus our Lord and Savior, the Real Presence . . . just like Jesus promised.

So there you have it, a rather simple explanation of the Eucharist.  Something to think about next Sunday at Mass when you hold out your hands and hear “the body of Christ” . . . and you respond “Amen.”

Thanks for stopping by the Tiber River Café, where there is always plenty of room at the banquet table.  I hope to see you next time.  Peace be with you.