If one topic has caused a great divide between the high churches and low churches of Christianity, it is the topic of Holy Communion and what it is. Holy Communion is not only important 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, regularly practicing it and calling it holy communion (or the more proper term, the Holy Eucharist) is specific to certain Christian traditions. It is practiced by Catholics, Orthodox, and some Classical Protestants (i.e., Anglicans and Lutherans). So, what is the Holy Eucharist? Why is it shown such high reverence? What makes it a sacrament? For those who aren’t aware of what that means, we will discuss it today.
Before I do, I need to make a note: It is important that within 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 become a hot-button topic, but it has been one that has resulted in Christians placing stereotypes on other Christians (i.e., Evangelicals claiming Catholics are cannibals). So, with that out of the way, let us begin.
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 in the Holy Eucharist in remembrance of him. Sounds straight to the point, right? Well, it goes a little deeper than that. It is not just 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 this 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 specific 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 keep this “memorial” forever (Exod. 12:14) because every generation of Jews stands together with Moses and Aaron and the Jews of Egypt with whom God made this covenant. Even today, during the Passover meal, the youngest child asks, ‘Why is this night different from all others?’ Take note of the verb and adjective: the child does not ask, ‘why was that night different,’ but ‘why is this night different?’ Before Almighty God, every Jew who was, is, or will be was part of that Passover.”
Because of how important 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 main focus every Sunday.
Unlike pieces of bread or crackers used in some Evangelical circles, the Holy Eucharist is one of two things. Holy Eucharist is unleavened bread in the Catholic/Classical Protestant realm, hence why it is extremely thin. The reason for this can be traced back to Luke 12 and 1 Corinthians 5:6-8. While it is unclear as to whether Christ had unleavened bread in the last supper with the 12 Disciples, it is 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 in the Eastern and Coptic Orthodox realms. This is in part due to the kingdom of heaven spreading like yeast (Matt. 13:33; Lk. 13:20). They, too, look at the passages that Catholics use, such as Luke 12, but they have the perspective that it was less about leavened bread and more about the Pharisees.
Whether one uses leavened or unleavened bread, they both agree on what the Holy Eucharist is: the real presence of Christ’s body and blood. Now, for those who are not as familiar with this belief or who seem disturbed, do not worry. I, too, was once worried and weirded out by this claim, but after studying further, not only did I come to respect this belief but embrace it as well.
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 have no life in you.” Now, before moving forward, we need to address one thing. Yes, Jesus spoke in metaphors, such as when he said he was the door (Jn. 10:9-16), the vine (Jn. 15:1-15), and so on. So why do high-church Christians believe his statement is literal instead 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 clarify. 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, speaking to a Jewish audience, which suggests not just eating animal’s flesh with the blood, but his own human flesh with blood. Jesus is given every opportunity to explain his words . . . instead, he intensifies his language, ‘amen, amen, I am saying to you . . . unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you . . . that is the biblical ground to this ancient catholic belief, that Christ is really, truly, and substantially present in the bread and wine.”
To further this point of view, we also have the writings of Paul, who says to examine yourselves before partaking in the Holy Eucharist and that some have even died in doing so (1 Cor. 17-34). This can be further seen in the Apostolic Fathers (aka the Apostles' disciples). I have provided dates to highlight that these statements were composed only a generation after the apostles.
“We call this food Eucharist, and no one else is permitted to partake of it, except one who believes our teaching to be true and who has been washed in 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 do we receive these; but since Jesus Christ our Savior was made incarnate by the word of God and had both flesh and blood for our salvation, so too, as we have 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 both 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 growth of his children” – St. Clement, The Instructor of Children 1:6:43:3 (written circa A.D. 191)
“I have no 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 the context of the Holy Eucharist. What does Jesus say directly about it? How does it institute it?
As I mentioned in a previous article about infant baptism, a sacrament is an outward sign of inward grace. Two of the seven sacraments are the first among equals: holy baptism and holy eucharist. This is due to Christ himself implementing both during his earthly ministry. Furthermore, it is the central act of worship, as mentioned earlier. Because of this, the only people who can consecrate the Holy Eucharist as the body and blood of Christ are ordained priests and bishops because it was only the 12 apostles who were present with Christ at the Last Supper, and it is also through them that there is apostolic succession. To paraphrase, when a man is prayed over by the “laying on of hands” (Acts 8:14-19), they are then consecrated through the sacrament of holy orders, which gives them the authority through Christ to consecrate and distribute holy Eucharist among the faithful and to himself.
There is honestly so much more than can be covered, and the topic of the Holy Eucharist can be found with some of our writers here at Christianity.com. What I want to end on is this: Eucharist is not just a Catholic practice. While many Protestants hold to holy communion being symbolic or even spiritual presence, many Protestants, most notably Lutherans, Anglicans, and even Methodists. This is not 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 family member believes what they believe. Even if you do not come to accept the Holy Eucharist as the literal body and blood of Christ, it is important to respect it nonetheless because it is what Christ instituted, and it is what Christ is called us to do often.
Photo Credit: Unsplash/JamesColeman
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