This is the most somber Holy Day of the Year, Good Friday. At the Ninth hour much of Christendom will pause to commemorate the Hour at which our Lord Jesus Christ gave His own Life so that we might be reconciled to God the Father and share in the Eternal Life of the Trinity. One of my favorite Theologians in the United States is Dr. Scott Hahn. He is a brilliant theologian, writer, and speaker. If you have never listened to his talk on “the Fourth Cup” you are missing one of the best blow by blows, detailing the Lord’s Last Supper, Passion, and Death. He is able to look at Scripture and give all us regular Catholics in the pews, a down to earth explanation of what transpired some 2000 years ago. As a former Protestant Evangelical that has returned to the Church, I was absolutely amazed at what I did not see in Scripture as I read the Gospel accounts over and over and over these past 25 years.
In the Traditional Jewish Passover Meal, there are 4 cups of wine that are drunk, each with their own significance. However, the night Jesus instituted the New Covenant of the Passover in His Body and Blood; he did not drink the Fourth Cup. At the end of the Passover Celebration, normally they would sing a song called the ‘Great Hallel’ and drink the last cup ending the celebration. In the Gospel accounts, Jesus and his Disciples sang the hymn, but then left the upper room and went to the Garden to pray without drinking that last cup. SO at first glance, and as many of us regarded the Passover meal was over and done with; but was it? Was the New Covenant Passover complete at the end of that Meal? I am hesitant to give you then answer. You see, once I was disillusioned with the Protestant church and began to doubt the “once saved always saved” theology, I also began to question other doctrines as well. One of the largest differences comes to us in the celebration of the Lord’s Supper or the Eucharist. MOST Protestants (not all), believe that the Lord’s Supper is just a Remembrance, a Memorial, a snapshot of the past. They believe it is more of a commemoration of the Meal, not a sacrifice that contains the REAL PRESENCE of our Lord Jesus Christ. We Catholics do believe that Jesus is Present in the consecrated Bread and Wine. Jesus is present to us… the same Jesus who was present at the Last Supper is being made present when the priest at mass calls upon the Holy Spirit to come down upon them. It in fact becomes the SAME Sacrifice that Jesus presented some 2000 years ago. He told us that he would NEVER LEAVE us. He has made this sacrifice to span both time and space so that HE is present to EVERY person who becomes a member of His Church; to nurish and feed us.
In the Traditional Jewish Passover Meal, there are 4 cups of wine that are drunk, each with their own significance. However, the night Jesus instituted the New Covenant of the Passover in His Body and Blood; he did not drink the Fourth Cup. At the end of the Passover Celebration, normally they would sing a song called the ‘Great Hallel’ and drink the last cup ending the celebration. In the Gospel accounts, Jesus and his Disciples sang the hymn, but then left the upper room and went to the Garden to pray without drinking that last cup. SO at first glance, and as many of us regarded the Passover meal was over and done with; but was it? Was the New Covenant Passover complete at the end of that Meal? I am hesitant to give you then answer. You see, once I was disillusioned with the Protestant church and began to doubt the “once saved always saved” theology, I also began to question other doctrines as well. One of the largest differences comes to us in the celebration of the Lord’s Supper or the Eucharist. MOST Protestants (not all), believe that the Lord’s Supper is just a Remembrance, a Memorial, a snapshot of the past. They believe it is more of a commemoration of the Meal, not a sacrifice that contains the REAL PRESENCE of our Lord Jesus Christ. We Catholics do believe that Jesus is Present in the consecrated Bread and Wine. Jesus is present to us… the same Jesus who was present at the Last Supper is being made present when the priest at mass calls upon the Holy Spirit to come down upon them. It in fact becomes the SAME Sacrifice that Jesus presented some 2000 years ago. He told us that he would NEVER LEAVE us. He has made this sacrifice to span both time and space so that HE is present to EVERY person who becomes a member of His Church; to nurish and feed us.
In Chapter 6 of John’s Gospel, Jesus tells everyone gathered, “I am the Bread of Life, that comes down from Heaven." He went on to tell them that if they did not eat his flesh and drink his blood, they would have no life in them. (Please read the bread of Life Discourse in the sixth chapter of John’s Gospel) Many present said they could not take that kind of talk. They said to themselves… HOW are we to eat his flesh… this is hard to take. As a result, many of his disciples left and no longer believed in him. Today, many Protestants think Jesus was speaking figuratively and did not mean we had to eat his flesh and drink his blood. They point to the fact that at the Last supper he only told us to do this in ‘remembrance of Me’… as a memorial and since it was a memorial… it was only symbolic. However, if Jesus only meant it symbolically, he would have called those disciples back and told them so. He did not. He even went further and asked the Apostles if they wanted to leave as well. They declined, saying that He was the son of God, and where else could they go? He was the one with the words of eternal life. The fact that Jesus did not correct them and given that he told them this 8 times… demonstrates that he meant what he was saying.
“I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats of this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.” (John 6:51)
Whenever Jesus was teaching the crowds in the form of a parable or figuratively, later he would explain the meaning to the disciples… here he does NOT do that here. He meant that we were to eat his flesh and drink his blood. That is why at the Last Supper, when he said to the Apostles… “This is my body…” and “this is my blood…” they knew what He meant and they didn’t have to ask for clarification. My friends, JESUS is PRESENT under the appearance of bread and wine in the consecrated Eucharist. He is physically present Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity. The early Christians believed it and so did the Christians at the Reformation. It was not until at or after the reformation that Protestants denied it. Luther himself and many of the reformers believed in it… even Henry the eighth did as well. That is why today Anglicans believe it.
In his talk about the 4th cup, Scott Hahn reveals to us that the Passover meal that Jesus transformed into the NEW covenant of his Body and Blood, the Eucharist; in fact was not over until he was hanging on the Cross and said, “I thirst.” Then the soldiers gave him common wine from a sponge on a hyssop branch, and then he said, “IT IS FINISHED”… Protestants believe that Jesus finished the role he came to earth for. He finished and completed the mission of salvation and reconciled man with God Almighty. INDEED He did! Then he said. “Into thy hands I commend my spirit.” Then He died. It was done. But lets look back, do you remember what Christ said at the Last Supper? He said he would not drink of the fruit of the vine until he came in glory. He was offered common wine more than once on the way to the cross but he refused it. It wasn’t until God allowed him to “be lifted up from the earth…”, and hung on the Cross-that “he would draw all men unto me” (himself). The Father Glorified the Son at the Crucifixion. Jesus took the “last cup” of the Passover Meal while upon the Cross. Then he said “I Thirst” so that the scriptures would be fulfilled. He drank from the 'cup of blood', from a sponge on a hyssop branch…. The same branch that the Israelites used at the first Passover in Egypt when the sprinkled the blood upon the door posts and mantels so that they would be passed over when the Angel of Death ‘passed-over’ all of Egypt taking the first-born of every house. At His drinking of that wine from that sponge on a Hyssop branch, Jesus finished His mission and became the Passover Lamb for us all! Now, we too, can have death pass over us as we enter into Eternal Life. Thanks be to God!
May I ask you one question? What did the Israelites do with the Passover lamb? I’ll tell you…. They ATE It's FLESH! That is what Jesus meant for us to do as well. HE said… “Give us this day our daily bread” and in Chapter 6 of John’s Gospel…He said, “I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats of this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.” At the last supper He instituted the Eucharist so that he would be made present to us until the end of the Age; in the Eucharist where He would feed us and nourish us and give us the grace we need while on our journey to Eternal Life. EVERY time we share in His body and blood at the Eucharistic Meal, we proclaim his death until he comes again. Each time we take the Eucharist, we are having a personal encounter with the living Lord. We are personally welcoming Him into us, to change us so we become more like Him, as he unites us to Himself, God the Father, The Holy Spirit, and to one another; all Sharing in the Eternal Love of the Trinity.
I don’t know about you, but all I can say is…. WOW! Isn’t this AWESOME! Since I have discovered what the bible truly claims about the Eucharist… I am so OVERJOYED, so BLOWN AWAY! Whenever I humbly step forward I cannot help but bow before My Lord and My God as I graciously receive His Body and Blood present under the appearance of bread and wine at the Holy Sacrament of the Altar -The Eucharist. No wonder the Church calls the Eucharist the Sum and Summit of our Faith! All Praise and Glory be to God who is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit! Amen? AMEN!
If you are interested, you can purchase a downloadable MP3 for $2 of Dr. Scott Hahn’s “the Fourth Cup” at the website of Lighthouse Catholic Media. Here is the link:
Until next time, May you and your families have a MOST BLESSED EASTER.
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