Mark Hillis
The grandparent says to the child, playfully, “You’re so good, I could eat you!” Is it possible to express the bond between Jesus Christ and the Christian Church in such an emotive way?
Unpack the issues...
One of the Christian Gospels says that we can. Take a look at John’s Gospel, chapter 6. The debate that is portrayed in this remarkable book amplifies one of the first claims of the Gospel (in chapter 1) that this person is “the Word made flesh,” dwelling among us. Jesus is portrayed as “living bread” and elsewhere as providing “living water” (chapter 4). In chapter 6, the language becomes offensive to people (verses 60-67). Many people want nothing more to do with Jesus. Others stay, because they can’t imagine living without him and that he has “the words of eternal life".
These hugely weird and wonderful proclamations about Jesus Christ are nowhere more evident than in the sacramental life of the Christian Church. The “Eucharist,” “Lord’s Supper” or “Holy Communion” is that sacred meal of “Christ’s body and blood” which acknowledges, remembers and re-enacts the “Last Supper". That was the Jewish Passover meal which Jesus of Nazareth shared with his disciples in an upper room in Jerusalem on the night before his death, “the night of his betrayal". We have it from the other Gospels that Jesus commanded this practice to continue, and that it is a foretaste of eternal fellowship with God.
The term Holy Communion leads into another way of appreciating this practice. It is a form of ‘sacred union’ with Christ, a special sharing of the presence of Christ with other people of faith. There are positive and negative ways that Christians and others have looked at this meal, this “feast of heaven". The following table gives expression to this.
| Negative associations with Holy Communion? | Positive associations? |
| Sacrifice – blood shed for sinners, who are reconciled to God and each other through Christ | Self-giving of God in Christ – a voluntary act |
| Suffering – the pain and rejection of Jesus | Life-giving Spirit of God shared with humanity |
| Dependency – needy people, hungry & thirsty | Empowering – fearless followers living by faith |
| Humiliation – the debasement of Jesus, executed by the Romans (crucifixion) | Overcoming the fear of death – the love of Christ lifts us up and motivates courageous discipleship |
| Cannibalistic fears – when people take it literally | Seeking union – “You’re so good, I could eat you” |
Opponents of Christianity, in earlier times, could easily arouse suspicion and fear in society by portraying the Lord’s Supper as a ghoulish, cannibalistic affair. Even today some Christians are hesitant about the words that are used in Holy Communion services (or celebrations of the Eucharist). They find associations with Christ’s humiliation, suffering and death somewhat alienating. Other Christians seek frequent participation and enjoy the tangible signs of God’s presence.
Of all the images and portrayals of this Christian sacrament, I find myself embracing the one which celebrates joyous spontaneity and loving closeness to Jesus, well expressed in the words, “You’re so good I could eat you!”
Rev. Dr Mark Hillis is the national director of the Uniting Church in Australia's Christian Education agency.
Unpack the issues...
- What is your experience of Holy Communion?
- Do you experience any cannibalistic fears, or is it a joyous practice?
- To what extent is Holy Communion a foretaste of the 'heavenly banquet'?
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written by Phillip , September 15, 2009
It is vitally important, as with many things in the Christian faith,not to get literalistic about Communion. Doing this paints a picture of"Redemptive Violence". In other words, a somewhat offended God, who has been offended through first Adam's, and apparently ours, that he has no option but to sacrifice his own Son in the most brutal way his time had to offer, in order for us to be redeemed. I don't believe Jesus saw the purpose of his life this way. The Lord's Supper was originally simply the celebration of the common meal, and therefore the body and blood was symbolic of, I believe, of both Jesus' love and compassion for humanity, and his commitment to what he believed in - compassion and social justice for the poor and the dispossessed. Phillip.
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