|
|
|
|
|
PDF (Adobe Portable Document Format) and .ppt (Microsoft PowerPoint Format) files of the presentation for this session are available for download from the Eucharist Home Page and the Download page
Topics 1.1. Review of The Words of Institution 1.2. Review of John's Eucharistic Theology 1.3.1. One Statement of the Question 1.3.2. Another Statement of the Question
2.2. Cyril of Jerusalem, 350 AD 2.4. John of Damascus, 665-749 AD
3. The Meaning of "Presence" and "Real" 3.2. The Meaning of “Presence” 3.2.1. Different Ways of Being Present 3.2.2. The Multiple Presences of Christ in the Eucharist
4. Theologies of the Real Presence 4.4. Transsignification, Transfinalization
1. Introduction 1.1. Review of The Words of Institution (This material is a summary of some material covered in the second session)
…the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took a loaf of bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, ‘This is my body that is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.’ In the same way he took the cup also, after supper, saying ‘This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.’ For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.” Paul: 1 Corinthians 11:23-25 (NRSV)
We find four accounts of the words of institution from Paul and the gospel writers:
In the four accounts:
1.2. Review of John's Eucharistic Theology John does not describe the words of institution, but does have an extended passage of Eucharistic Theology:
“I am the bread of life. Your ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. This is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats of this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.” The Jews then disputed among themselves, saying, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?” So Jesus said to them, “Very truly, I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood have eternal life, and I will raise them up on the last day; for my flesh is true food and my blood true drink. Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood abide in me, and I in them. Just as the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so whoever eats me will live because of me. This is the bread that came down from heaven, not like that which your ancestors ate, and they died. But the one who eats this bread will live forever.” - John 6:48-58 (NRSV)
1.3. Questions We can pose the fundamental question about the "real presence" of Christ in the Eucharist in the following ways:
1.3.1. One Statement of the Question
“This is my body,” “This is my blood,” “Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood abide in me and I in them”
What do these statements mean?
1.3.2. Another Statement of the Question The Eucharist as a sacrament involves:
But in the Eucharist, we are affirming that:
but also:
But “really present” how?
2.1. Introduction The concept of the real presence of Jesus in the bread and wine was widespread in the early Church:
2.2. Cyril of Jerusalem, 350 AD Cyril of Jerusalem, 350 AD wrote:
[Jesus Christ] by his own will once changed water into wine at Cana in Galilee. So why should we not believe that he can change wine into blood?. . . We should therefore have full assurance that we are sharing in the body and blood of Christ. For in the type of bread, his body is given to you, and in the type of wine, his blood is given to you, so that by partaking of the body and blood of Christ you may become of one body and one blood with him. - From Catechetical Lectures given to those preparing for Baptism
2.3. Augustine, 354-430 AD Augustine, 354-430 AD, wrote:
That which you see is bread and the cup, which even your eyes declare to you; but as to that in which your faith demands instruction, the bread is the body of Christ, the cup is the blood of Christ… … these things are called sacraments for this reason, that in them one thing is seen, another thing is understood.” - Sermon, 272 AD
2.4. John of Damascus, 665-749 AD John of Damascus, 665 to 749, wrote:
And now you ask how the bread becomes the body of Christ, and the wine and the water become the blood of Christ. I shall tell you. The Holy Spirit comes upon them, and achieves things which surpass every word and thought… Let it be enough for you to understand that this takes place by the Holy Spirit.
3. The Meaning of "Presence" and "Real" 3.1. Introduction
3.2. The Meaning of “Presence” 3.2.1. Different Ways of Being Present A person or object can have a "presence" for us in different ways:
3.2.2. The Multiple Presences of Christ in the Eucharist There are several ways that Christ is present for us in the Eucharist:
With all these "multiple presences" of Christ in the Eucharist, we might say that Christ’s presence in the Eucharist is a personal presence which is focused in the bread and wine but is not localized to the bread and wine:
“On any natural reading of the words ‘This is my body’ or ‘This is my blood’, the demonstrative pronoun must be taken as referring to the bread and wine. We must not, however, wrench the focus out of its context. The bread and wine are not to be taken out of the human, personal situation in which they have their being as the body and blood of Christ.” - Macquarrie, p. 127
3.3. The Meaning of “Real” 3.3.1. Physical Reality One might limit reality to a purely "physical reality." That is, we might claim a thing is what it is purely because of its atomic and molecular structure.
However, no one claims that the molecular structure of bread and wine are changed in the Eucharist to the molecular structure of flesh and blood. So if we limit reality to no more than:
then we must say Jesus is not “really present” in the sense of being “physically really” “present”
3.3.2. Non-Physical Reality We do not commonly limit reality to the above notion of physical reality. Perhaps without being consciously aware of it, we accept as "forces" greater than ourselves, several realms of "non-physical" reality = “Metaphysical” Reality. These might include:
Theologies that attempt to explain the "real presence" draw upon the reality of these "non-physical" (= "metaphysical") realms.
4. Theologies of the Real Presence 4.1. Introduction Theologies of the Real Presence include:
4.2. Transubstantiation Transubstantiation is a theology of the real presence most fully developed by Thomas Aquinas, 1224-1274. It is based on Aristotle’s view of reality that all matter has two qualities:
In Transubstantiation, at the moment of consecration of the bread and wine, a miracle occurs:
4.3. Consubstantiation Consubstantiation is the name given to Luther’s view that:
How the substance of both bread and the body of Christ can be together is a mystery. An analogy cited by Luther, (from Origen, 185-254) is to consider the following:
4.4. Transsignification, Transfinalization Transsignification and Transfinalization are theologies formulated by the Roman Catholic theologian Edward Schillebeeckx in the 1960’s. They are both based on a view of reality that the identity of a thing is based on:
This view implies that meaning / significance, purpose /end goal of a thing have a metaphysical reality
In Transsignification and Transfinalization, at the moment of consecration of the bread and wine, a miracle occurs:
While the various theologies of the real presence probe the mystery and suggest ways in which we might understand it, in the end, mystery remains, and so we can return to the words of John of Damascus, 665-749 AD:
And now you ask how the bread becomes the body of Christ, and the wine and the water become the blood of Christ. I shall tell you. The Holy Spirit comes upon them, and achieves things which surpass every word and thought… Let it be enough for you to understand that this takes place by the Holy Spirit.
The information in these notes comes from the following references:
|
|
|
