The Good News of the Eucharist by Ralph Martin
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The Good News of the Eucharist By Ralph Martin What Does the Gospel Say About the Eucharist? What does the Gospel, which is simply Old English for “Good News,” say about the Eucha- rist? Quite a bit, it turns out. In fact, one of the important realities that the Gospel proclaims is the good news of the Eucharist. At one of the most critical moments in Jesus’ life, in the few hours before He was to begin His Passion, which was to lead to His saving death, He had one last meal with His disciples, the sacred Passover meal of the Jews. The Passover meal commemorated the deliverance from slavery of the Jewish people, who labored in Egypt and who were led out by Moses. As the angel of death passed over the land to kill all the firstborn, only the homes of the Israelites, who had marked their door- posts with the blood of a lamb, were spared the punishment of death. The Fathers of the Church understood the Passover meal and the Passover event itself as a type of what was to reach its fulfillment in Jesus. Just before Jesus 1 offered His life as a sacrifice for the forgiveness of sins and deliverance from eternal death (the true Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world by the shedding of His blood), He instituted a new sacred meal—a meal derived from the Passover, but a sacred meal of the new covenant—to commemorate what He was about to do: When the hour arrived, he took his place at table, and the apostles with him. He said to them: “I have greatly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer. I tell you, I will not eat it again until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God. “ Then, taking bread and giving thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying: “This is my body to be given for you. Do this as a remembrance of me.” He did the same with the cup after eating, saying as he did so: “This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which will be shed for you.” (Lk 22:14-16,19-20) The Greek word for “remembrance” (an- amnesis) has connotations of making present as well as remembering. The sacred meal of the new covenant that Jesus instituted at the Last Supper and commanded His disciples to do in His memory carries with it the connotation of recalling to mind Jesus and His sacrificial death, and making them present. One striking illustration in the Gospel of 2 the eucharistic presence of Jesus is contained in the account of the encounter on the road to Emmaus. After the Word was spoken and ex- plained, and as the bread was being broken, the two disciples recognized the presence of Jesus with them in the speaking of the Word and the breaking of the bread: When he had seated himself with them to eat, he took bread, pronounced the blessing, then broke the bread and began to distribute it to them. With that their eyes were opened and they recognized him; whereupon he vanished from their sight. They said to one another, “Were not our hearts burning in- side us as he talked to us on the road and explained the Scriptures to us?” . Then they recounted what had happened on the road and how they had come to know him in the breaking of bread. (Lk 24:30-32,35) Jesus had shocked His disciples earlier in His ministry, when, in anticipation of His eucharistic presence that would become possible after the Resurrection, He very bluntly told them: 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 for a man to eat and never die. I myself am the living bread come down from heaven. If anyone eats this bread he shall live forever; the bread I will give is my flesh, for the life of the world. 3 At this the Jews quarreled among them- selves, saying, “How can he give us his flesh to eat?” Thereupon Jesus said to them: “Let me solemnly assure you, if you do not eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. He who feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood has life eternal, and I will raise him up on the last day. For my flesh is real food and my blood real drink. The man who feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and I in him. Just as the Father who has life sent me and I have life because of the Father, so the man who feeds on me will have life because of me. This is the bread that came down from heaven. Unlike your ancestors who ate and died nonetheless, the man who feeds on this bread shall live forever.” (Jn 6:48-58) Here, Jesus made it clear that the manna of the Old Testament was only a foreshadow- ing of the real bread from heaven that is Jesus Himself, to be made present sacramentally in the Eucharist after His Resurrection. The early Church obeyed Jesus and expe- rienced His presence as they broke bread in remembrance of Him and His sacrificial death: They devoted themselves to the apostles’ instruction and the communal life, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. A reverent fear overtook them all, for many 4 wonders and signs were performed by the apostles. They went to the temple area together every day, while in their homes they broke bread. With exultant and sincere hearts they took their meals in common, praising God and winning the approval of all the people. Day by day the Lord added to their number those who were being saved. (Acts 2:42-43;46-47) Paul warned the early churches that ap- proaching the Eucharist with reverence and holy fear is essential for spiritual and even bodily health: I received from the Lord what I handed on to you, namely, that the Lord Jesus on the night in which he was betrayed took bread, and after he had given thanks, broke it and said, “This is my body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way, after the supper, he took the cup, say- ing, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.” Every time, then, you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the death of the Lord until he comes! This means that whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord un- worthily sins against the body and blood of the Lord. A man should examine himself first; only then should he eat of the bread and drink of the cup. He who eats and drinks without recognizing the body eats 5 and drinks a judgment on himself. That is why many among you are sick and infirm, and why so many are dying. If we were to examine ourselves, we would not be falling under judgment in this way; but since it is the Lord who judges us, he chastens us to keep us from being condemned with the rest of the world. (1 Cor 11:23-32) The Church understands the Eucharist as making present the body and blood of the risen Lord, on the basis of the authority of the Scriptures, on the authority of Christ Himself. The Catechism of the Catholic Church cites both St. Thomas Aquinas and St. Cyril of Al- exandria, to this effect: That in this sacrament are the true Body of Christ and his true Blood is something that “cannot be apprehended by the senses” says St. Thomas, “but only by faith, which relies on divine authority.” For this reason, in a commentary on Luke 22:19 (“This is my body which is given for you.”), St. Cyril says: “Do not doubt whether this is true, but rather receive the words of the Savior in faith, for since he is the truth, he cannot lie.” (1381) What Does the Eucharist Say About the Gospel? What does the Eucharist say about the Gos- pel? Again, quite a bit. The Eucharist is itself 6 a proclamation of the Gospel in word and sign. The Eucharist proclaims the basic message of salvation and brings us into contact with the sav- ing deeds and person of Christ. As Paul says in his instruction to the Corinthians, “Every time, then, you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the death of the Lord until he comes” (1 Cor 11:26)! The very heart of the gospel message, the death of Christ for our salvation, is the very heart of the Eucharist. “Eucharist” is a Greek word that means “thanksgiving.” What we primarily give thanks for in the Eucharist is the sacrificial death of Christ for our salvation. Understanding the gospel message is essential for understanding the Eucharist. What Is the Gospel Message? What is the Gospel message? That short summary of the Gospel that is commonly seen on signs at sports events, John 3:16, does accurately sum- marize the Gospel: Yes, God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him may not die but may have eternal life. Let’s look at a somewhat longer text from Ephesians that brings out in a striking way the reason we have to be thankful that God has given us His only Son, which is also the foundation for 7 the prayer of thanksgiving and praise that is at heart the Eucharist: You were dead because of your sins and offenses, as you gave allegiance to the present age and to the prince of the air, that spirit who is even now at work among the rebel- lious.