The Shock of the Blessed Sacrament

A Scriptural Reflection on the Readings for Sunday, July 29, 2012 | Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time | Carl E. Olson

Readings:
• 2 Kgs 4:42-44
• Ps 145:10-11, 15-16, 17-18
• Eph 4:1-6
• Jn 6:1-15

When, as an Evangelical Protestant, I began working my way through the many Catholic beliefs that both puzzled and attracted me, one really stood out: the Eucharist.

And of all the various Scripture passages I read, re-read, and studied, there was one that especially shook me to the core: the sixth chapter of John. As I read what is among the most astounding and brilliantly realized passages of the Bible, the tension would build to the moment when Jesus, with serene firmness, asked of his murmuring disciples, “Does this shock you?”

Yes, I thought to myself, it does shock me. What to think? What to do?

The center of the shock is located in John 6:51-59, where Jesus stated emphatically, “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” (Jn. 6:53). But to appreciate more profoundly the mystery of the great Bread of Life discourse, we need to start at the beginning of the chapter and slowly work through the various stages of explosive revelation found in what is an argument, a teaching, a prophetic utterance, and, ultimately, a direct encounter with the heart of Jesus Christ.

Today’s Gospel reading is the first of five successive weeks of readings from John 6. These opening fifteen verses establish both the physical and theological context of what follows. Jesus had crossed the Sea of Galilee with a large crowd following on land; the people were curious about the miracles and signs performed by the Nazarene.

St. John notes, quite purposefully, that Jesus “went up on the mountain,” which indicates that God was about to work in a miraculous and startling way. The Evangelist also indicates the feast of Passover was near; this was the second Passover during Jesus’ public ministry. During the first Passover, Jesus had cleared the Temple and then prophesied rather cryptically his death and resurrection (Jn. 2:19-22). Later in John 6, Jesus spoke again about his death and resurrection (6:51). And the third Passover, of course, was when Jesus was arrested, tried and crucified (Jn. 19:14).

The Passover context is significant for this central Jewish feast was a solemn ceremony in remembrance of the Exodus from Egypt, a pivotal and defining moment in Jewish history. At that first Passover (Ex. 12) the people were commanded to take an unblemished lamb, kill it, and spread the blood over the doorposts. They were then commanded to eat the lamb completely, along with unleavened bread. Down through time the Jews celebrated the Passover with a feast involving bread and wine and the singing of Psalms, followed by the sacrificing of lambs in the Temple.

Jesus is described as the Lamb of God “who takes away the sin of the world” in the opening chapter of John’s Gospel (Jn. 1:29). In the sixth chapter, then, the essential themes are sustenance, sacrifice, and salvation. The sustenance was, first of all, physical in nature. Jesus was quite aware of the basic needs of those following him. But the miracle of the multiplication of the loaves and fishes was not simply about physical satisfaction, but was the start of spiritual challenge and illumination.

In a pattern described several times in the Fourth Gospel—think of Nicodemus (Jn. 3) or the Samaritan woman at the well (Jn. 4)—Jesus began with a physical object or event, such as birth or water, and used it as a springboard into deep spiritual waters. Those waters, in turn, are shown to be sacramental in nature. As we will see over the next few weeks, the physical sign of multiplying bread—itself a symbol pointing to the reality of the Eucharist—led to the declaration of a spiritual truth, “I am the bread of life” (Jn. 6:35).

That, in turn, will bring us face to face with the sacramental reality—“For my flesh is food indeed, and my blood is drink indeed” (Jn. 6:55)—and the question: “Does this shock you?”

(This "Opening the Word" column originally appeared in the July 26, 2009, edition of Our Sunday Visitor newspaper.)

Comments

[Catholicman444]

I never understood the logic of Protestants who take the Bible "lierally," yet apparently didn't take the words, "This is My Body" and "This is My Blood" literally, since they don't believe in the Real Presence.

[Robert H.]

John chapter 6 never cease to amaze and mystify...

[Mike Simon]

During a meditation, it came to me that in John 6, the first protestants are described in the sentance that says "many could no longer follow Him as this saying was too harsh". Today, it is still true.

[Father Joseph LeBlanc, SJ]

Unfortunately 46 percent of Catholics in the US do not believe in the Real Presence. I am not too sure if these 46percent will ever change their minds as their catechesis has been so mediocre since Vatican II that the percentage is not surprising.

I am hoping in the process of the New Evangelization and Catholics Come Home projects that we can commit to strong adult religious education -a renewal of the teachings of the Gospel and Church.

Frankly speaking, all of this will depend upon the mind set of our pastors, religious education teachers who are qualified and know the faith through the Catechism of the Catholic Church, and the laity who will open up their minds and hearts to once again receive a strong gift of faith.

At the present time, a large portion of the Church is living in pure unadulterated mediocrity. We are satisfied with the minimal; and St. Ignatius urges us on to the magis.

Prayerfully in a society that has relationships with only technological devices, we will again open our eyes, ears and hearts to the Words of Christ: This is my Body; This is my Blood.

[Peter L]

I have had the pleasure of working with and befriending a young Protestant man,a truly lovely and kind young man.I shared a works canteen with him for several years and came to respect and love him.Of course the subject of religion came up during our conversations,he would often ask me about Catholic doctrine,most queries were why the Church would not allow her priests to marry and why the Church would deny the dying and sick in Africa access to contraception.He also advised me i needed to be born again to see the kingdom of heaven.

When i told him that Christ told the Apostles to become fishers of men and to devote themselves to God and God only by preaching the Gospel,he was able to see why the Church would and could hold this position.I told him contraception could not replace virtue and indeed can fuel lust among people,along with making it easier to commit adultery.I also told him i was born again through baptism.I know he could see the Catholic Church was right on these points.

On the subject of presence in the Eucharist,this is were i am at a brick wall with him.He tells me "But Christ only said to do this in memory of me."I do tell him Christ also said " This is my Body; This is my Blood " but to no avail.I cannot move him any further.

One thing i am certain of in our ten year friendship is this,he has moved closer to Catholicism than i have moved to protestantism.It takes a lot of courage to leave a faith we are born into,even if we are swayed the other way.

[Charles E Flynn]

Why does God seem so needy?, by Reverend Know-It-All.

[John Siple]

Such words are indeed hard to endure, yet the twelve could not leave Jesus, because they knew him to be the One, the Son of Man, the Promised one.
Eucharist is a tease to Protestants who would like to participate, but must accept Catholicism to take part. This is too much.
Only Catholic teaching founded in Scripture, over & over can call the lost sheep back to the Root.

[Honor]

Peter L, you might challenge your friend in this way: if Christ meant that "Do this in memeory of me" was to be only a symbolic commemoration, by eating mere bread and drinking mere wine, why would his followers find it such a hard teaching and leave him? Of course he meant it literally; that is what was so shocking and sent them scurrying away. Verse 52 proves that the Jews understood His meaning:

52 Then the Jews started arguing among themselves, 'How can this man give us his flesh to eat?'

And He did not correct them, but went on to the more explicit words, instructing that they must "eat the flesh of the Son of man and drink his blood . . .". How much more explicit a description does your friend need? Or perhaps, he needs a better translation. Ask to see his Bible. The translation he is reading may be inaccurate.

[Rob Elliott]

Do I detect prejudice in some of the above? Protestants don't believe in the Real Presence!! Which is more sincere to not believe or belong to a Church whose doctrine says you should and then don't (46% of Catholics). In my experience (as an ex-Anglican) this is a major issue of division at a time when we need more than ever to be united.

[James Henning]

Hi PeterL
Also ask your friend to read and discuss verses 67 to 70 in Chap. 6 of John's Gospel.
God is good - All the time.

[Joseph]

In UK many Protestants believe in the Real Presence of the Blessed Sacrament
- is this not also the case in the USA?

[Laura P]

Thanks for this post, Carl. As a convert myself, I am fascinated and, indeed, in love with the Eucharist. As a Protestant, I never paid much attention to John 6. But after I understood the truth of the Real Presence, the literal truth of John 6 was so clear to me. It is now my favorite passage of Scripture. I pray that our Protestant brothers and sisters will also come to understand the truth, and that their eyes and minds and hearts will be opened to what John 6 really says. It is indeed a "hard saying", especially for those who lack the courage to dig for the truth and follow up on it, no matter the cost. And for some, the cost may be high.

[Peter L]

Hi Honor and thank you for this very convincing and easy to understand view of presence in the Eucharist.Reading this makes it very hard to refute or near impossible not to believe Christ was indeed meaning to take his teaching literally.I shall ease this into one of my conversations with my friend very soon and will be very interested to hear his response.I keep learning.

One thing i have to add is,both me and my friend live in Northern Ireland and i am sure i don't have to elaborate the difficulties people would face embracing a different faith.It is possible to lose a family,friends and even an entire community by changing faith where i live.It is not as bad as it used to be but the Catholic and Protestant divide is still a reality for some.This,sometimes more than faith,can be the biggest challenge to finding our spiritual home.

Again,thank you.

[Mcewen]

I do not think that most protestants understand how shocking Jesus statement was/is In the OT the Jewish people are warned about drinking the blood, It was forbidden by God, For in the blood, is the life. This man Jesus asked them to sin against all their fathers by drinking blood, they must have thought he was the devil and left him in haste. The studies of the Eucharist is that it is true, hosts have become heart muscle and blood, active after 700 years. In God is truth and the truth is the truth if no one believes it, and a lie is a lie if everyone believes it.
So if Jesus can freely put his life down and pick up again, can he make the host into his flesh and blood?, The church fathers and Paul state that the Eucharist is the blood and body of Christ a hard saying it is. Jesus can do the resurrection but the host he can not do because because because?.

[LJ]

Such words are indeed hard to endure, yet the twelve could not leave Jesus, because they knew him to be the One, the Son of Man, the Promised one. -John Siple

With respect to more than the doctrine of the Real Presence this was true for me coming into the Church. I suspect it is the case with many converts; that in the final step they have much that is taken on faith because it hasn't all been worked out, yet they know they must follow Christ.