Jesu Aripo muYukaristiya?

Catholics believe that the Holy Eucharist is really the Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of Jesus Christ, under the appearances of bread and wine. While this belief can seem strange to non-Catholics, it is backed up by Sacred Scripture, as well as early Christian historical documents.

The Gospels tell us that on the night Jesus was betrayed He shared a Passover meal with the Twelve Apostles, the Last Supper. The Passover is the ritual meal eaten by the ancient Israelites on the eve of their liberation from bondage in Egypt. God instructed them to slaughter a lamb without blemish, put some of its blood upon the doorframe of their houses, and then roast and eat its flesh (Ekisodho 12:5, 7-8).

Jesu, whom the Bible calls “the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world” (Johani 1:29), is the fulfillment of the Passover lamb. Just as the Passover lamb was without blemish, so Jesus is without sin. Just as the people put the lamb’s blood upon the wood of their doorframes, His blood was upon the wood of the Cross.

Saizvozvowo, the Last Supper is the fulfillment of the Passover meal, eaten as it was on the eve of mankind’s liberation from sin. On this night the Lamb of God gave His own Flesh and Blood to be eaten by the faithful nenzira yesakaramende under the form of bread and wine.

Kutora chingwa, zviropafadze, kuchityora, uye achichiparadzira pakati pavapostori, Akati, “Tora, kudya; uyu ndiwo muviri wangu” (Mateu 26:26). Akabva atora mukombe, zvaakaropafadzawo, akavapa, achiti, “Inwai, mose; nokuti iri iropa rangu resungano, icho chinodururirwa vazhinji kuti vakanganwirwe zvivi” (Mateu 26:27-28). Kunyange zvazvo Jesu aigara achitaura nedimikira mukati mehushumiri hwake, panguva yakaoma iyi Akataura pachena. “Uyu muviri wangu," Akati, without further explanation. “Iri iropa rangu.” Zvakaoma kufungidzira kuti Ishe vaigona sei kuva vakananga zvikuru.

Kugadzwa kwaJesu kweYukaristiya paKudya Kwemanheru Kwokupedzisira kunozadzisa mharidzo Yake yeChingwa cheHupenyu yakakurumbira, yakanyorwa mu sixth chapter ye The Gospel According to Saint John. Mharidzo iyi inotangirwa nekuwanda kwezvingwa nehove, in which thousands are miraculously fed from a tiny amount of food (Johani 6:4). This event is an Eucharistic metaphor, occurring as it does during Passover and involving the same formula Jesus would later use at the Last Supper—taking the loaves, kupa kutenda, uye kuvagovera (Johani 6:11). Vanhu pavanodzoka zuva raitevera kuzokumbira chiratidzo kubva kwaAri, vachirangarira kuti madzibaba avo akapiwa mana sei murenje (maona Ex. 16:14 ff.), the Lord tells them,“Ndini chingwa choupenyu; he who comes to me shall not hunger, uye anotenda kwandiri haangatongovi nenyota” (Johani 6:35).

Kunyange zvazvo mashoko ake achiita kuti maJuda asagadzikane, Jesu anoenderera mberi asinganeti, Kutaura kwake kwairamba kuchiwedzera kujeka, “I am the living bread which came down from heaven; kana munhu akadya zvechingwa ichi, achararama nokusingaperi; and the bread which I shall give for the life of the world is my flesh” (6:51). Because He equates the Bread that is to be eaten with His Flesh that is to suffer and die, we know He cannot be speaking symbolically, for this would mean His Flesh that suffered and died was merely a symbol!

To this the people ask, “Munhu uyu angatipa sei nyama yake kuti tidye?” (6:52). Pasinei nekunetseka kwavo, Jesus speaks all the more emphatically,

“Chokwadi, chokwadi, ndinoti kwamuri, kunze kwokunge madya nyama yoMwanakomana woMunhu nokunwa ropa rake, hamuna hupenyu mamuri; anodya nyama yangu nokunwa ropa rangu ane upenyu husingaperi, uye ini ndichamumutsa nezuva rekupedzisira. Nekuti nyama yangu chikafu zvirokwazvo, uye ropa rangu chimwiwa zvirokwazvo. Unodya nyama yangu nekumwa ropa rangu, unogara mandiri, uye ini maari. Baba vapenyu sezvavakandituma, uye ndinorarama nokuda kwaBaba, naizvozvo unondidya uchararama nokuda kwangu. Ichi ndicho chingwa chakaburuka kubva kudenga, kwete vakaita samadzibaba akadya akafa; unodya chingwa ichi uchararama nekusingaperi” (6:53-58).

Non-Catholic Christians, who interpret Johani 6 symbolically, often point to the saying of Jesus that follows His Bread of Life Sermon: “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” (6:63).

Jesus cannot mean His own Flesh, kunyange zvakadaro, when He says, “The flesh is of no avail,” because that would mean His death on the Cross was of no avail!

Jesus uses the word “flesh” differently here than He does in the sermon. Here it refers not to the actual body, but to bodily or worldly thinking, reasoning with the flesh instead of the spirit (maona Johani 3:6, 12; 6:27; ZvaPauro Tsamba kuvaRoma 8:5-6 uye wake Tsamba Yokutanga kuvaKorinde 2:14-3:3). Jesus is simply saying that it is impossible to understand His Bread of Life teaching by human reason alone; one needs to think in a spiritual way.

Kupembererwa kweYukaristiya kwaiva musimboti muupenyu hwevaKristu vepakutanga, avo “vakazvipira kukudzidzisa kwevaapostora nokuyanana kwavo, pakumedura chingwa neminyengetero” (Mabasa avaApostora 2:42). Paul identifies both the manna and the rock that spewed forth water for the Israelites as Eucharistic metaphors. “Vose vakadya zvokudya zvimwe chetezvo zvinoshamisa uye vose vakanwa chinwiwa chimwe chetecho chinoshamisa,” anonyora kudaro. “Nokuti vakanwa kubva padombo guru rakanga ravatevera, uye Dombo rakanga riri Kristu” (ZvaPauro Tsamba Yokutanga kuvaKorinde 10:3-4).

Even more explicitly, he goes on to admonish the Corinthians for their lack of reverence in receiving the Eucharist, kunyora:

“Whoever, naizvozvo, unodya chingwa, kana kunwa mukombe waShe nomutoo usina kufanira, uchava nemhosva yokumhura muviri neropa raShe.. 28 Munhu ngaazviongorore, saka idya chingwa nokunwa mukombe. 29 Nokuti ani naani anodya nokunwa asingatsauri muviri anozvidyira nokuzvinwira kutongwa kwake. 30 Ndokusaka vazhinji pakati penyu vasina simba uye vachirwara, uye vamwe vakafa” (Tsamba Yokutanga kuvaKorinde 11:27-30).

How could the unworthy reception of ordinary bread and wine amount to a sin against the Body and Blood of Jesus?

Early Church Teachings

We know the Catholic Church’s teaching on the Eucharist is in harmony with how the early Christians understood It. Ancient historical writings from the Apostolic Age forward affirm this. Take the writings of Saint Ignatius of Antioch, semuyenzaniso. Not only was Ignatius a Christian Bishop, but he had learned the faith seated at the feet of the Evangelist John, the one who wrote Johani 6!

In about A.D. 107, Ignatius was arrested and taken to Rome to die a martyr’s death in the Colisseum.

On his way there, he composed seven letters, which have come down to us and which all reputable scholars agree are authentic.

Mune yake Tsamba kuvaSmirna, he uses the Church’s Eucharistic teaching to defend the belief that Jesus had a real human body against the Docetists, who denied He had truly come in the flesh:

“Take note of those who hold heterodox opinions on the grace of Jesus Christ which has come to us, uye ona kuti kufunga kwavo kunopesana sei nepfungwa dzaMwari. … Vanorega kubva paYukaristiya uye nemunamato, nokuti havabvumi kuti Eucharist iNyama yeMuponesi wedu Jesu Kristu, Nyama iyo yakatamburira zvivi zvedu uye iyo Baba, mukunaka Kwake, raised up again.” (6:2; 7:1)

Muviri mumwechete wakatambura uye wakafira pamuchinjikwa nokuda kwezvivi zvedu uye ukadzoka kubva kuvakafa, sekutsanangura kwaIgnatius, uripo kwatiri muYukaristia inoera (cf. Johani 6:51).

Mutsvene Justin the Martyr, writing around the year 150, only about fifty years after John’s death, akati Chingwa neWaini yeChidyo hazvigamuchirwi “sechingwa chenguva dzose kana kuti chinwiwa chinonwiwa,” nokuti Ivo “nyama neropa zvaJesu akaberekwa” (Kutanga Kukumbira ruregerero 66).

In about 185, Mutsvene Irenaeus weLyons, ane mudzidzisi Mutsvene Polycarp weSmirna (d. ca. 156) aizivawo Johani, yakataura nezveYukaristiya mukudzivirira kumuka kwemuviri kunopesana negnosticism. “Kana muviri ukasaponeswa,” akadaro Mutsvene, “zvino, saizvozvo, uye Jehovha haana kutidzikinura neRopa rake; uye kana mukombe weYukaristiya hausi kugoverana kweRopa Rake kana Chingwa chatinomedura kugoverana kweMuviri Wake. (1 VaK. 10:16)” (Kupesana neVanyengeri 5:2:2).

In 217, Mudzidzi waIrenaeus, Mutsvene Hippolytus weRoma, perceived Proverbs 9:2 as “refer[ring] to His honoured and undefiled body and blood, which day by day are administered and offered sacrificially at the spiritual divine table, as a memorial of that first and ever-memorable table of the spiritual divine supper” (Commentary on Proverbs).

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