Emmanuel
Jesus is really present in the bread and wine of the Eucharist, we can
see that it is still a struggle for many.
Some biblical scholars assert that the Eucharist derived from the
understanding of the primitive church after the resurrection of Christ.
Early followers of Jesus felt the need to gather and share a meal
together in memory of the many meals they had enjoyed with him
during his ministry.
For instance, Joachim Jeremias states in The Eucharistic Words of Jesus
that the eucharistic tradition belongs to the first decade after the
death and resurrection of Jesus. He holds that at the beginning there
was not much of an established liturgical tradition, only the historical
account of the Last Supper. Furthermore, he notes that since the
“words of interpretation (institution)” were the oldest, they would be
closest to the time of Jesus.
Another eminent biblical scholar, Joseph Fitzmyer, states that the
synoptic Gospels (Mk 14:22-25; Mt 26:26-29; Lk 22:14-20) seek to root
the Eucharist in the words and deeds of Jesus at his final meal with his
followers. Therefore, this could indicate that the liturgical tradition of
the Eucharist reaches back to the very early stages of Christianity.
Raymond E. Brown mentions that the phrase instituted by Christ does
not necessarily mean that in his lifetime Jesus had carefully thought
out a sacramental system. Nor does it mean that he foresaw the exact
specifics of the different sacraments. What he did at the Last Supper
was the root. Further, Brown offers a meaningful insight in noting that
institution by Christ means that the actions we call sacraments are
specifications of a power Christ entrusted to his church in and through
his apostles during the time of his ministry and after his resurrection.
Thus the sacraments are not inventions (even innovations) of the
church, but part of the plan of Christ.
At the very beginning of Christianity, the celebration of the Eucharist
(the breaking of bread) was simple and took place in the homes of
believers where the local church gathered (Acts 2:46). The standardized
forms and formulas of our eucharistic ritual developed later.
The Mystery of Faith
When it comes to understanding the mystery of the Eucharist, we
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