First of all, let me make sure the definition of Eucharist is clear. RCs believe the Holy Eucharist is the Body, the Blood, the Soul, and the Divinity of Jesus Christ under the appearance of bread and wine. In other words, transubstantiation is literally the bread changing from bread into Christ, while retaining the appearance of bread. This is known as the Real Presence.
John 6 has two major, interconnected themes: 1. Jesus teaching about the Eucharist. 2. Jesus discussion about faith-the unique special faith needed to accept his difficult teaching about the Eucharist.
Indeed, as we read John 6, we will see how many of Jesus’ own disciples lacked the faith required to believe in the Real Presence. When he walked on earth, it took a great deal of faith to believe Jesus was God, since his humanity veiled his divinity. However, to believe that Jesus is present in the Eucharist requires even greater faith, because the Eucharist veils both His divinity and humanity. This is why Jesus stresses the theme of faith so strongly at the same time as He reveals His teaching on the Eucharist. In John 6:35-69, Jesus clearly teaches that we must consume his flesh and blood as food: “I am the living bread that came down from heaven; whoever eats this bread will live forever; and the bread I will give is my flesh for the life of the world” (verse 51); “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” (verse 53); “My flesh is real food and my blood is real drink” (verse 55).
It is no accident that immediately prior to these passages, Jesus performs two of his most famous miracles, both of which emphasize faith:
· The multiplication of the loaves and fishes and the feeding of 5000, where he tests Phillip’s faith (John 6:6).
· The calming of the storm at sea, where Jesus reprimands Peter for his lack of faith (Matthew 14:31).
There are at least five reasons we know that Jesus is speaking LITERALLY and not symbolically about his real flesh and blood.
1. This discourse takes place just after the famous miracle of the multiplication of the loaves. Jesus turned five loaves and a couple of fish into a seemingly inexhaustible supply: enough to feed thousands, with much to spare! This miracle prefigures the inexhaustible gift of Christ’s own flesh and blood, which is capable of being received by millions without being divided or diminished. Jesus claims that this miracle of ordinary bread is nothing compared to the miracle he will give us with the extraordinary bread of his own flesh.
2. Jesus claims the superiority of his bread over the manna given to the Israelites. “I am the bread of life. Your ancestors ate 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.” (verses 48-50). The miracle of the manna was enormous: each day millions of people received an omer of manna per person. (tens of thousands of pounds of manna raining down daily, except the Sabbath, for forty years! Jesus says he will perform an even greater miracle than the manna. But mere earthly, natural bread serving as a symbol of Christ would be inferior to the heavenly, supernatural manna. The bread that Christ gives us must be more real and more miraculous than even the manna.
3. Everyone who heard Jesus understood him to be speaking literally of his own body and blood. “How can he give us his flesh to eat?” object the unbelieving Jews (verse 52). “This saying is hard, who can accept it?” demand his unbelieving disciples (verse 60). Many of these disciples had lived, eaten, and walked with Jesus for nearly two years. They spoke the same language and dialect as he did. Day in and day out, they heard him speak symbolically, using parables, allegories, and analogies (such as calling Herod a fox). They also heard him speak literally, meaning exactly what he said. In Christ’s Eucharistic discourse, these disciples heard him “live.” If a picture is worth a thousand words, then a live presentation is worth a thousand pictures. Yet these same disciples, many of whom quit following Jesus, never even asked Jesus to explain himself. They understood perfectly that Jesus meant precisely what he said!
4. Instead of explaining that his listeners were misunderstanding him, that he was only speaking figuratively, Jesus –using the strongest possible language—emphatically repeats the literalness of this teaching, six times in six verses (53-58)! “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” (verse 53). “My flesh is real food and my blood real drink (verse 55). This is NOT the language of symbolism!
5. Many of Jesus’ own disciples can’t accept the literalness of this teaching and leave him (verse 66). Notice that Jesus doesn’t call them back and explain that he is only speaking figuratively, as he did on previous occasions when they mistook his meaning. For example, in John 4: 31-34, Jesus says, “I have food to eat of which you do not know.” His disciples take him literally, so Jesus explains: “My food is to do the will of the one who sent me.” In Matthew 16:5-12, Jesus says, “beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Saducees.” Once again, his disciples think Jesus is speaking literally. Again, Jesus corrects them and explains that he is not talking about real bread. “Then they understood that he was not telling them to beware of the leaven of bread, but of the teaching of the Pharisees and the Saducees.” Jesus doesn’t call the unbelieving disciples back and offer to explain for an obvious reason: they understood exactly what he meant! They just couldn’t accept it. Even the twelve Apostles are shaken. But Jesus doesn’t budge an inch. Instead, he challenges his own hand-picked Apostles: “Will you also go away?” (verse 67). In faith, Peter answers: “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life” (verse 69). We have two choices: we can either doubt like the unbelieving Jews and disciples, or believe like Peter that somehow Christ will accomplish his promise. Notice also that Judas apparently rejects this teaching (verse 70-71).
Most of this is taken directly from Beginning Apologetics 3: How to Explain and Defend the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist by Fr. Frank Chacon and Jim Burnham (published by San Juan Catholic Seminars)
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