N
NPS
Guest
…Jesus?
Whose fault is it that the Catholic Church has led so many people astray with this crazy idea about the Real Presence? Well, the Catholic Church got it from the Apostles, who got it from Jesus himself. There can be no question that they got the idea from Jesus. The only real question is if they misconstrued the whole thing or they took him at his word:
*48
I am the bread of life.
49
Your ancestors ate the manna in the desert, but they died;
50
this is the bread that comes down from heaven so that one may eat it and not die.
51
I am the living bread that came down from heaven; whoever eats this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world."
52
The Jews quarreled among themselves, saying, “How can this man give us (his) flesh to eat?”
53
Jesus said to them, “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.
54
Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him on the last day.
55
For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink.
56
Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and I in him.
57
Just as the living Father sent me and I have life because of the Father, so also the one who feeds on me will have life because of me.
58
This is the bread that came down from heaven. Unlike your ancestors who ate and still died, whoever eats this bread will live forever.” *
There is no question that the apostles all thought that He meant what He said. The record is obvious–they have celebrated “communion” since the beginning. Were they wrong? Did Jesus mean simply a sort of spiritual blessing? Just an idea that they could pass on to help explain what He did for us?
One thing we know for certain is that the Gospels and the Letters are not transcripts of things that took place. Surely there must have been further discussion about the subject. Does anyone think they would let such a big bombshell go on without further discussion?
Let’s assume the Apostles just plain messed it up. Either they didn’t hear it correctly or misunderstood it or maybe they had it all straight and just did a poor job of passing it on to people. Somehow this strange idea of Jesus’ took on a whole new meaning–That He actually meant that He was present under the appearance of bread and wine!!! I’d have to say that’s a fairly big screwup. And if it is—it has gone on for over 2000 years.
So whose fault is it? Who should shoulder the blame for not making it plain to the Apostles what He was truly “trying” to say. (Imagine—Imagine!!! Jesus trying to explain something and not quite getting it right!)
If it’s all a huge misunderstanding, how can the blame lie anywhere else but with Jesus himself?
He knew, and knows all. Can anyone say with a straight face that He wouldn’t know the ramifications of His words?
Wouldn’t He know that everything was going cockeyed on Him and would get even worse? Wouldn’t He know that the mistake would be multiplied a billion times over the next 2000 years?
That billions of people in history would be led astray by these simple words? That people would die for what they mistakenly considered to be the Real Presence? That people would basically become idolaters of a piece of wheat?
He knew all. He knows all. He knew where things were headed.
Remember a bunch of them started shuffling out of the room, murmuring. Probably saying “I thought this guy was alright , but he’s crackers!” It all could have been avoided by a simple clarification. “Whoa guys, listen a bit closer…THIS is what I am saying”
Instead all He did was turn to the remaining Apostles:
**“Do you also want to leave?” **
I know it is easy for me to say as a Catholic, but I firmly believe that if I wasn’t Catholic, the one single thing I’d be looking for in a church is a true communion.
Whose fault is it that the Catholic Church has led so many people astray with this crazy idea about the Real Presence? Well, the Catholic Church got it from the Apostles, who got it from Jesus himself. There can be no question that they got the idea from Jesus. The only real question is if they misconstrued the whole thing or they took him at his word:
*48
I am the bread of life.
49
Your ancestors ate the manna in the desert, but they died;
50
this is the bread that comes down from heaven so that one may eat it and not die.
51
I am the living bread that came down from heaven; whoever eats this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world."
52
The Jews quarreled among themselves, saying, “How can this man give us (his) flesh to eat?”
53
Jesus said to them, “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.
54
Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him on the last day.
55
For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink.
56
Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and I in him.
57
Just as the living Father sent me and I have life because of the Father, so also the one who feeds on me will have life because of me.
58
This is the bread that came down from heaven. Unlike your ancestors who ate and still died, whoever eats this bread will live forever.” *
There is no question that the apostles all thought that He meant what He said. The record is obvious–they have celebrated “communion” since the beginning. Were they wrong? Did Jesus mean simply a sort of spiritual blessing? Just an idea that they could pass on to help explain what He did for us?
One thing we know for certain is that the Gospels and the Letters are not transcripts of things that took place. Surely there must have been further discussion about the subject. Does anyone think they would let such a big bombshell go on without further discussion?
Let’s assume the Apostles just plain messed it up. Either they didn’t hear it correctly or misunderstood it or maybe they had it all straight and just did a poor job of passing it on to people. Somehow this strange idea of Jesus’ took on a whole new meaning–That He actually meant that He was present under the appearance of bread and wine!!! I’d have to say that’s a fairly big screwup. And if it is—it has gone on for over 2000 years.
So whose fault is it? Who should shoulder the blame for not making it plain to the Apostles what He was truly “trying” to say. (Imagine—Imagine!!! Jesus trying to explain something and not quite getting it right!)
If it’s all a huge misunderstanding, how can the blame lie anywhere else but with Jesus himself?
He knew, and knows all. Can anyone say with a straight face that He wouldn’t know the ramifications of His words?
Wouldn’t He know that everything was going cockeyed on Him and would get even worse? Wouldn’t He know that the mistake would be multiplied a billion times over the next 2000 years?
That billions of people in history would be led astray by these simple words? That people would die for what they mistakenly considered to be the Real Presence? That people would basically become idolaters of a piece of wheat?
He knew all. He knows all. He knew where things were headed.
Remember a bunch of them started shuffling out of the room, murmuring. Probably saying “I thought this guy was alright , but he’s crackers!” It all could have been avoided by a simple clarification. “Whoa guys, listen a bit closer…THIS is what I am saying”
Instead all He did was turn to the remaining Apostles:
**“Do you also want to leave?” **
I know it is easy for me to say as a Catholic, but I firmly believe that if I wasn’t Catholic, the one single thing I’d be looking for in a church is a true communion.
