I know Jesus, His body and blood dwell in me, Part 3

It is now time to discuss the most important sacrament of the Christian Church, the Holy Eucharist. The Holy Eucharist is the pinnacle of our faith and its importance and significance is exemplified in the Bible and in the writings of the Early Church Fathers. The Holy Eucharist cleanses, renews, rejuvenates and through faith it heals and destroys the sin that dwells within us, as it is written in Matthew 26 -

 ²⁶ While they were eating, Jesus took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to his disciples, saying, “Take and eat; this is my body.”
 ²⁷ Then he took a cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you. ²⁸ This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins

Our Lord Jesus specifically states that His body and blood are broken and poured out for many and for the forgiveness of sins. Some may object and state that Jesus was speaking figuratively and that He never implied that the bread and wine were actually His body and blood, but rather that they represented His sacrifice in a symbolic sense. This could not be further from the truth and we will discover the truth by delving into the Holy Scriptures, we read in John 6 -

Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes has eternal life. ⁴⁸ I am the bread of life. ⁴⁹ Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. ⁵⁰ This is the bread which comes down out of heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die. ⁵¹ I am the living bread that came down out of heaven; if anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread also which I will give for the life of the world is My flesh.

Jesus, whilst conversing with the Jewish authorities, explicitly stated that He is living bread and in order to live we must consume this bread. This event took place prior to the institution of the Eucharist in the above mentioned verse (Matthew 26) and therefore the Apostles would have immediately recalled these words during the last supper where Jesus states "This is My body, this is My blood". The Apostles had come to a realisation that Christ's flesh, which is to be eaten, was contained within the bread that He was distributing amongst them. To further solidify this theological aspect of the real presence of the Eucharist, we also read in John 6 -

 ⁵² Then the Jews began to argue with one another, saying, “How can this man give us His flesh to eat?” ⁵³ So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in yourselves. ⁵⁴ He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. ⁵⁵ For My flesh is true food, and My blood is true drink. ⁵⁶ He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him. ⁵⁷ As the living Father sent Me, and I live because of the Father, so he who eats Me, he also will live because of Me. ⁵⁸ This is the bread which came down out of heaven; not as the fathers ate and died; he who eats this bread will live forever.”

Jesus reiterates that without His body and blood, we have no life within us and it is through the consumption of His body and blood that eternal life is granted to us. Jesus also states that His body is true food and His blood is true drink, the plain reading of this verse is required to grasp the message that Christ was conveying, although at the time many were perplexed and many more walked away, Christ was explicit in that we must eat His flesh and drink His blood in order to live. The question that must be asked is, how do we do this? The answer is to be found in Matthew 26, Jesus makes known to the Apostles that His Body and Blood are within the bread and wine that He distributed amongst them, and this same body and blood is distributed to the faithful every Sunday throughout the Apostolic Churches across the globe. This is done in remembrance of His life, death, burial and resurrection.

St Paul discusses the significance of this Holy Sacrament and he also confirms that Christ's body and blood are present within the bread and wine -

1 Cor 10:16 "The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not a participation in the Blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not a participation in the Body of Christ?" St. Paul continued, 1 Cor 11:27 "Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of profaning the Body and Blood of the Lord." St. Paul added, 1 Cor 11:29 "For any one who eats and drinks without discerning the Body eats and drinks judgement upon himself."

These words carry a weight of significance, we participate in the Blood and Body of Christ when we partake of the Holy Eucharist and that we are to partake of it in a worthy manner, lest we bring judgement upon ourselves. St Paul states, "we will be guilty of PROFANING the Body and Blood of the Lord", implying that there are severe consequences for those who wish to cast aside the importance of the Eucharist and partake of it in a casual manner. As Orthodox Christians we should always approach the Paten and chalice with fear and trembling knowing that the body of the creator is being distributed for our salvation, what we consume the angels in heaven dare not gaze upon.

The reverence for the Holy Sacrament was known by the early church and church fathers who were acquainted with the Apostles, St Ignatius in the first century writes -

"Consider how contrary to the mind of God are the heterodox in regard to the grace of God which has come to us. They have no regard for charity, none for the widow, the orphan, the oppressed, none for the man in prison, the hungry or the thirsty. They abstain from the Eucharist and from prayer, because they do not admit that the Eucharist is the flesh of our Savior Jesus Christ, the flesh which suffered for our sins and which the Father, in His graciousness, raised from the dead."

And again the blessed Saint states -

"Come together in common, one and all without exception in charity, in one faith and in one Jesus Christ, who is of the race of David according to the flesh, the son of man, and the Son of God, so that with undivided mind you may obey the bishop and the priests, and break one Bread which is the medicine of immortality and the antidote against death, enabling us to live forever in Jesus Christ."

It is immediatley clear that heretics who denied the real presense of the body within the Eucharist were not a part of the Church that Christ established.

For us to claim that Christ dwells within us without having His body and blood co-mingling with our body and blood means that we are deceived, as we have learnt together we must have communion with our Lord in order for us to proceed from this life to the next. It is of great spiritual significance that we draw near to these mysteries with prayer and reverance for the pardon of our faults and to ensure that we do not bring condemnation upon ourselves. Our salvation is dependant upon the mysteries that our Lord and savior Jesus Christ established for our benefit.

In the next part of this series, we will discuss our ongoing commitment to Christ by discussing the topic of faith and good deeds.