Eat My Flesh & Drink My Blood

The following is a response to a question asked by a member of the church I attend.

Dear Member,

The idea that the tenets of the Eucharist (communion), the bread and the wine, turn into the actual body of Christ when administered is and has been a widely held doctrine of the Catholic Church called transubstantiation. This doctrine emerged as part of the Sacramental theology. There is no need to go into great detail about Sacramental theology but it is important to address it because it is at the heart of a misunderstanding of the gospel. Sacramental theology teaches that it is through the seven sacraments, including transubstantiated communion, that one finds salvation. Sacramental theology does not find its roots in the bible but rather in a papal edict given by one of the Popes.

Scripture tells us that it is by grace alone given through faith in the resurrection of Christ that one finds salvation. Although this seems like a tangent it is necessary to establish the roots of Sacramental theology, which is not founded in scripture, and thus transubstantiation is not rooted in scripture.

Luke 22:19-20 tells us that this act was to be done in remembrance of the sacrifice that Christ was about to make. Even in the accounts given in Matthew and Mark use the same figurative language. As further evidence that this is figurative language Paul reiterates the fact that it is to be done in remembrance of Jesus Christ in 1 Corinthians 11:17-34.
In the doctrine of transubstantiation, the bread and wine need to be transformed into the literal body and blood of Christ because it is through this particular sacrament that one could maintain their Justification (be made righteous by the sacrifice of Christ). Leading a believer to put their faith in the sacraments to obtain grace, rather than in Christ alone, the author and perfector of our salvation.

So to sum up a lengthy answer the bread and wine are not the body and blood of Christ they are a figurative remembrance of the death and resurrection of Jesus.

Grace & Peace
Carl Amouzou