John 6:53 No life within you?

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How do you explain John 6:53 to a non-Catholic Christian who is a strong believer?
“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.”

Someone who is passionate about her faith, yet does not believe in the Real Presence, how can explain “you do not have life within you”?
 
rmw10454 said:
How do you explain John 6:53 to a non-Catholic Christian who is a strong believer?
“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.”

Someone who is passionate about her faith, yet does not believe in the Real Presence, how can explain “you do not have life within you”?
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I would try to be as polite as possible, but I would say that I appreciate that they are a strong believer. As Catholics we believe that the totality of belief includes belief in the Real Presence. Why? Because it is true. It has been divinely revealed (if you need reasons for that claim, please just ask). We believe if something has been divinely revealed, that it is part of our faith to accept that belief. Your friend may certainly have strong belief in parts of divine revelation, but as Catholics, we would say they have not accepted all that has been revealed. We do not make a judgment about the other person’s soul, for God is able to deliver the grace of a sacrament as He wills (CCC#1257). But we do not presume God will act exceptionally when His divinely revealed teaching is available and enough for the faithful to accept.
 
rmw10454 said:
How do you explain John 6:53 to a non-Catholic Christian who is a strong believer?
“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.”

Someone who is passionate about her faith, yet does not believe in the Real Presence, how can explain “you do not have life within you”?
Click to expand...
Many non-Catholic Christians believe Jesus was referring to His word and not His body and blood. The classic case of not applying a literal interpretation with John 6. And why? Conflicts with their novel beliefs. Jesus is very explicity about eating His flesh an drinking His blood. No indication of just being His words.
 
Well, speaking as a former Methodist & Presbyterian, I can only say that I’ve always viewed communion as a peak experience, but I wasn’t taught that I was eating Jesus’ real body. Since coming into full communion with the Church, though, the Eucharist means everything to me and I believe in real presence. Other than saying that most active Catholics are taught and know they are in the presence of the risen Christ at Holy Communion and are actually eating his body and drinking his blood, I wouldn’t feel it necessary to explain further. Except to say that I pray one day all Christians are united in full communion. We are, after all, united as brothers and sisters in Christ and I don’t think it’s my place to determine who has life in them and who does not.

Peace be with you!
 
Thank you to all who replied and to me; all of that makes sense because I am a Catholic. I believe in the Real Presence, and have had these discussions with non-Catholics before. However, the person who I am referring to (the non-Catholic) sees herself as someone who “has life within” her. So, since Jesus said UNLESS you receive His Body and Blood, you have no life within you, then to my friend, that means her faith is null and void, so to speak.
Maybe I am just not understanding how best to explain this to my friend. I guess a convert could best explain this part to me?
 
The condemnation of John 6:53 is directed against those people who know that Jesus is God and that He wants us to worthily eat His flesh and drink His blood in the Eucharist but who nevertheless freely and willfully refuse to do so. Such people, disobeying God’s command, are guilty of mortal sin, spiritually dead, and have no life in them.

Because your non-Catholic friend does not realize that Jesus is talking about receiving the Eucharist in John 6:53, she does not, on that account, fall into that unhappy, lifeless category. If she did realize He was talking about receiving the Eucharist, I bet, because of her passionate love of God, she would want be the first in line to receive the Eucharist.

To help her realize that Jesus is talking about the Eucharist, you might suggest she prayerfully consider the other places in Sacred Scripture where eating His flesh (or body) and drinking His blood are more clearly identified with receiving the Eucharist: Matthew 26:26-28; Mark 14:22-24; Luke 22:19-20; 1 Corinthians 10:16-21, 11:20-34.
 
I’m sure every convert has their own viewpoint. When I first began attending Mass a couple of years ago, I was very confused about Catholicism. BUT I knew I was experiencing God’s presence like I never had before. I don’t know if your friend knows about what it means to be in a state of grace, mortal and venial sins, apostolic succession, the sacrament of reconciliation, but I didn’t. For me, after RCIA, everything fit and conversion was such a life-changing gift. I was a Christian before, but coming to believe in the teachings of the Catholic church is a process where the Holy Spirit lights hearts on fire. Real presence is the best part! I just don’t know how one explains that to a protestant. One must want to believe and understand. So, friend, to quote St. Francis, "“Let all the brothers, however, preach by their deeds.”
 
I’m also a convert–the truth is that Protestants who are invincibly ignorant can certainly have a spiritual communion with Jesus in a Protestant communion service.

But it is also true that if they KNOW Jesus’ teaching about the Body and Blood and reject it they they really DON’T have life in them! they’re like all those that quit following Jesus because they thought the teaching was too hard in John 6:66!

Now we can never be sure WHO the Holy Spirit has instructed the truth to to be CAPABLE of KNOWING and WHO the Holy spirit would then REQUIRE that person to act on that belief and become in full communion with the Catholic church!

But make no bones about that–Jesus WILL judge who KNOWS enough and who is CULPABLE or not!

The best way to share with Protestants the truth of Jesus saying “You do not have life in you” is to share with them personally the love and joy and peace that you experience when you receive Jesus: body, blood, soul, and Divinity and how much you love your Protestant friends and how you want them to experience this , too!

If they think you really do love them and want this for them–they MIGHT be open!

Just always remember that everything Jesus says is true! Since John 6:53 is indeed true then it is all the more reason why we as Catholics must evangelize our Protestant bretheren!
 
rmw10454 said:
How do you explain John 6:53 to a non-Catholic Christian who is a strong believer?
“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.”

Someone who is passionate about her faith, yet does not believe in the Real Presence, how can explain “you do not have life within you”?
Click to expand...
usccb.org/prayer-and-worship/resources-for-the-eucharist/the-real-presence-of-jesus-christ-in-the-sacrament-of-the-eucharist-basic-questions-and-answers.cfm

This link goes into the whole subject in depth. At the end, in the summary this quote and some context is given.

Let’s remember that when Jesus said that, no one in His whole audience could do it YET.

Some grumbled the teaching was hard and left him. The apostles stayed, and at the Last Supper Jesus instituted the Eucharist to show HOW it would be done, WHAT it was, WHO should “do this in memory of me …” (the THIS being a re-enactment of His offering bread and wine, pronouncing “This is my body … This is my blood … take and eat…take and drink …” and performing His “once for all sacrifice” of the " …new covenant in my blood" in the manner of their new “High Priest,” Savior, King and Lord (God), Jesus.

The Church obediently performs the sacraments instituted by Christ and furthers His teachings as it participates in His work of salvation.

Today WE Catholics can do this … but in charity ask … what about the others? In the Catechism of the Catholic Church we learn of something similar to this in this section:

VI. THE NECESSITY OF BAPTISM

1257 The Lord himself affirms that Baptism is necessary for salvation.60 He also commands his disciples to proclaim the Gospel to all nations and to baptize them.61 Baptism is necessary for salvation for those to whom the Gospel has been proclaimed and who have had the possibility of asking for this sacrament.62 The Church does not know of any means other than Baptism that assures entry into eternal beatitude; this is why she takes care not to neglect the mission she has received from the Lord to see that all who can be baptized are “reborn of water and the Spirit.” God has bound salvation to the sacrament of Baptism, but he himself is not bound by his sacraments.

We are assured that God wants none to perish but for all to come to repentance.

We are taught that outside the Church there is no salvation (rather like Noah’s Ark in Noah’s day). So AS the Church we should be inviting others to come, welcoming them, etc.

And while Jesus is the High Priest and Head of the Church and can save whom He wilt,
it is not the Church’s job to go slack and cease to “teach the Nations” or forgive sins or
distribute the Body of Christ in the Eucharist to believers.
 
rmw10454 said:
How do you explain John 6:53 to a non-Catholic Christian who is a strong believer?
“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.”

Someone who is passionate about her faith, yet does not believe in the Real Presence, how can explain “you do not have life within you”?
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We should understand Jesus’ teaching as a Jew who heard him speak would have understood his teaching. All who heard Jesus were Jews, and lived under the Law of Moses.

God prohibited the consumption of blood until Jesus came to shed his blood for us.

As for anyone, whether of the house of Israel or of the aliens residing among them, who consumes any blood, I will set myself against that individual and will cut that person off from among the people, since the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you to make atonement on the altar for yourselves, because it is the blood as life that makes atonement. (Leviticus 17:10-11)

Since life is in the blood, consuming the blood of a beast would give us the life of a beast, ruled by instinct and subject to our own passions. Consuming animal blood meant living as animals, which God gave man dominion over in Genesis. We are supposed to be above the animals, better than the beasts, children of God created in His image.

Only Jesus’ blood is worthy of consumption. We want the life of Christ in us, not the life of beasts, and so God prohibited the consumption of blood until Christ came to shed his perfect blood for us. We consume the Blood of Christ so that we can have the life of Christ in us.

Only be sure that you do not eat the blood; for the blood is the life, and you shall not eat the life with the flesh. (Deuteronomy 12:23)

Deuteronomy 12:23 and the rest of the Law of Moses is how a Jew would have understood Jesus words.

For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. (John 6:55)

Jesus’ blood is the true drink, which gives us the life of God, not the false drink which gives us the life of an animal. That’s how the people who heard Jesus speak would have understood it.

-Tim-
 
rmw10454 said:
How do you explain John 6:53 to a non-Catholic Christian who is a strong believer?
“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.”

Someone who is passionate about her faith, yet does not believe in the Real Presence, how can explain “you do not have life within you”?
Click to expand...
EDIT: You have indicated that the thread is closed, so I apologise for interjecting.
 
rmw10454 said:
How do you explain John 6:53 to a non-Catholic Christian who is a strong believer?
“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.”

Someone who is passionate about her faith, yet does not believe in the Real Presence, how can explain “you do not have life within you”?
Click to expand...
I would answer it in the context of the chapter itself. Jesus says to the Jews that their ancesters ate the manna in the dessert but they still died. The Jews were well aware of this event, There were told this over and over from their childhood so they knew what Jesus was talking about and they knew He was speaking of a literal event that occurred and that the manna was material food that sustained the Jews in the dessert. This manna was the OT bread that came down form heaven but like anything else in the OT it was not perfected. That would occur in the NT. Jesus then speaks of the NT manna and says that it is real food just like the OT manna but there is a difference that Jesus points out in verse 63 when He says:

“It is the spirit that gives life, the flesh is of no avail; the words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life.”

The Jews recoiled in horror after hearing Jesus tell them they had to eat his flesh and drink his blood. But the Jews are still thinking literally of a material food. Jesus is speaking literally but He is not speaking of a material food. He says His words are Spirit and it is the spirit that gives life. He is talking about a spiritual food. Food, not for the body but for the soul. Protestants will say that when Jesus says John 6:63 that He is saying his words are figurative and not literal. But spirit is not the opposite of literal. It is the opposite of material. Jesus made no correction for literally understanding his words. He only made the correction that he was speaking of a spiritual food not a material food. Jesus was speaking very literally of a spiritual food and that food is what we call the Eucharist.
 
Thank you everyone…some very good points. I have argued the Real Presence using many of these points. The responses I usually get though, center around, “you have no life within you”. This comes from people who are non Catholics but have a powerful faith and Jesus is the center of their lives.
 
rmw10454 said:
Thank you everyone…some very good points. I have argued the Real Presence using many of these points. The responses I usually get though, center around, “you have no life within you”. This comes from people who are non Catholics but have a powerful faith and Jesus is the center of their lives.
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Then I would tell them that if they truly believe the Bible is inerrant then they must believe that Jesus did say those words and the words are true. I would also warn them that they cannot receive the Euchgarist in a Catholic or Orthodox church without first confession of their sins and receiving absolution or else they will, as Paul writes, be eating and drinking damnation on themselves for profaning the body and blood of Christ. Not easy to be protestant and be saved.
 
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