“The Bread Of Life III!”

“The Bread Of Life III!”(Jn.6:52-59).
When things seem not to work for you, those who deride your beliefs may taunt you and ask, “Where is your God? Why has he not answered you? Etc! But you child of faith, hold on to your faith because faith alone sings through days of sorrow, assuring that “all will be well…all must be well!”
The early Christians faced a lot of challenges from the heathens. The least of it being the accusation levied against them that they were cannibals. It was said that the Lord’s Supper was actually the eating and drinking of human blood.
The doctrine of “transubstatiation” has not actually eliminated the accusation of cannibalism. Transubstatiation is the belief that the bread and wine taken during Holy Communion are transformed into the body and blood of Christ. [This explains why we were told as kids that when you take the wine at Holy Communion, do not for any reason spit on the ground. And that if you spit, the spittle will be blood.]
On the other hand, Protestant proponents hold the belief of “consubstantiation.” [Consubstantiation is the belief that the body and blood of Christ are present in the bread and wine, but they do not transform to Christ himself.]
The accusation that Christians are cannibals centers on the words of Christ, “…unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life…For my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink…”
This was frightening even to the disciples. In fact, many of the disciples said, “This is a hard teaching. Who can accept it? This was probably one of the reasons why “many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him.”
Jesus felt it himself, so he asked the Twelve, “You do not want to leave too, do you?”
The same is the question to us. To parody Peter by faith, we can only reply like typical Africans with another question, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We believe and know you are the Holy One of God”(Jn.6:60-70).
My friend, we commemorate the death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ through the Supper he instituted that we should celebrate in his memory. By that meal, we have three assignments: “Your death O Christ we proclaim, your resurrection we announce, and your coming, we await.”
We affirm that Christ is our provider, our life support, through the life he offered for us.
Weekend prayer: Lord Jesus Christ, thank you for being our only all-weather friend and life-buoy in angry seas. Amen!
Have a blessed weekend! Peace be with you!
Rev Babila Fochang.