Why is the real presence of Christ in the Lord’s Supper such a controversial issue?

Answer

The concept of the “real presence” of the Lord Jesus Christ in the Lord’s Supper is a doctrine of Roman Catholicism (and some other Christian denominations) that teaches that, rather than being symbolic rituals, communion and baptism provide opportunities for the genuine presence of God to manifest. Concerning communion, it is believed that once the priest has consecrated the wine and the bread, the wine becomes Jesus’ blood and the bread becomes His flesh. Although they cannot explain the process, they hold that this transformation (referred to as transubstantiation) enables God to spiritually nourish the participant for better service and to represent Christ to the lost world.

Even Roman Catholics find this concept challenging to fully articulate. They maintain that Jesus established communion to allow believers to partake in the ongoing sacrifice of the cross. Following the consecration of the bread and wine, Christ’s crucifixion is reenacted for those present. The ritual somehow perpetuates the timeless nature of the crucifixion. Even after the service (or Mass) concludes, the remaining bread is preserved and revered as a gesture of gratitude to God for facilitating the transformation and sustenance.

There are two primary issues with this perspective. Firstly, it is implausible for a ceremony to replicate Jesus’ crucifixion. Various passages in the New Testament assert that Jesus’ death was a singular event “once for all” (Romans 6:10;Hebrews 7:27,9:12,10:10;1 Peter 3:18). There is no indication that the crucifixion, a historical event bound by time, transcends that timeline to become as eternal as God Himself. The consequences of that event are undoubtedly timeless, as it is through that act that even those predating Jesus’ era could attain salvation. However, there is no means for us to partake in an event that occurred almost two thousand years ago, except symbolically.

That is the significant debate concerning the belief in the real presence of Christ in the Lord’s Supper. However, practically speaking, the bread does not transform into flesh, and the wine does not turn into blood. No matter how strong the belief, it will not change. The more pressing issue is the mistaken belief that God’s blessings and nourishment are received through the bread and wine. Roman Catholicism teaches that liturgy (derived from the Greek word for “work”) is the means by which God imparts blessings and salvation. Essentially, by placing the priest as an intermediary between the worshippers and God, they also position the bread and wine as intermediaries between themselves and God. They believe that by partaking in communion obediently, they are blessed, and this blessing flows directly from God through the bread and wine into their souls.

This is not the teaching of Jesus. He declared, “I am the bread of life” and “It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words I have spoken to you are spirit and life” «I am that bread of life. », (John 6:48,63) «It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life. », (John 6:48,63). Jesus is the bread of life, but He is also the Word «In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. », (John 1:1). The nourishing bread is the Word of God «But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God. », (Matthew 4:4), not a wafer miraculously transformed into Jesus’ flesh. The notion that a human ritual is necessary to receive spiritual nourishment is not in line with Jesus’ teachings.nt is the kind of belief Jesus came to eliminate. His death tore the veil in the temple, granting us the capability to have a direct relationship with God «Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.», (Hebrews 4:16). That veil was not substituted by the act of blessing and consuming bread and wine.