Paul's Eucharistic Theology

Before you read this article, read this other article; The sacrificial language of the Lord's Supper, and so you know how much God loves you, For God so loved the world

I am acutely aware that some people that read these are not Catholic.  And while I’m not against giving a case for “Mere Christianity”, I am, as it is, a Catholic Christian.  I’ve noticed that many a Protestant like to quote Saint Paul. 
Which I understand, because Paul wrote a lot!

Before we get started, check me out on Locals, where this week, I vent my frustration about FEMA; FEMA is being unhelpful

But, given that I live in an area where the Zwinglian view of the Lord’s Supper seems to be the most common, I am mildly confused on how one could even come to this conclusion.  Let’s check out what Paul has to say about the Lord’s Supper; “For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night he was betrayed took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, “This is my body which is for you”.  In the same way, also the chalice, after supper saying, “This chalice is the new covenant in my blood.  Do this as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.”

For as often as you eat this bread and drink this chalice, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes”.  (1 Corinthians 11:23-26).

Okay, you’ll note several things right away.  The first one is, this had been passed on to Paul via apostolic tradition (see v.23).  But, you may note other things, such as the fact that, at least as far as Paul is concerned, that he says “this is my body”, not “this represents my body”.  Why would Paul not explain that Jesus meant that he had a symbolic view?  He knew the apostles, surely they would have told him that it was symbolic.

But, that’s because it’s NOT a purely symbolic description (“symbolic” traditionally had a broader meaning than it does now, symbol (n.)).

Paul actually held a very high Eucharistic theology.  Those that claim the New Testament holds a low Eucharistic theology are reading their own views into the text.  Okay, rant over.

But, what really should interest you, is what Paul says next; “Whoever, therefore eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of profaning the body and blood of the Lord. (1 Corinthians 11:27). 

Now, I hear an objection already, “but, he says bread, so, that can be symbolic”!  Okay, but, here’s a question, if it’s just bread, how do you profane it?  How do receive bread in an unworthy manner?  I also think it’s important to note that we may be dealing with phenomenological language.  It’s kind of unlikely that the apostles would be able to formulate a definition like “transubstantiation” in the first century.  Probably not what they were concerned with.

But, there’s another reason that I think Paul can’t be describing the Eucharist in a purely symbolic view; let’s read v. 28-30, “Let a man examine himself, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup.  For any one who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgement upon himself.  That is why many of you are weak and ill, and some have died.” (There’s MUCH more, but I don’t have time to go through all of that). 

My point is this, it seems to me, that it’s rather impossible to read the text of the Bible, and come to the conclusion that Paul has a low Eucharistic theology.  I feel like one would have already had to have that view and read it back into the text.

I actually did see a woman try to argue that the early Church though of the Eucharist and a “simple memorial meal”, and sadly, this woman is based in Bettendorf, Iowa (right next to where I was born in Davenport).  And the arguments just can’t be substantiated.

But, bread and wine, that can be transubstantiated.  And while they didn’t use the term, THIS is what the early Church believed, this is what Jesus taught, and Paul and the other apostles believed.

And this is what the Bible teaches, even if it doesn’t explicitly use that terminology.  

Adam Charles Hovey is the founder of the Catholicism, News, and Whatever community and host of the weekly Bible study, Coffee and Christianity

* All scripture quotes are from the Revised Standard Version Bible, Ignatius Edition, Copyright 2006, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America.