Readings:
• Dt 8:2-3, 14b-16a
• Psa 147:12-13, 14-15, 19-20
• 1 Cor 10:16-17
• Jn 6:51-58
The English author G. K. Chesterton (1874-1936) was a constant source of wisdom and encouragement while I was trying to figure out “the Catholic thing” years ago. One of my favorite Chesterton books, in fact, is titled The Thing: Why I Am a Catholic, written in 1929. Chesterton is very quotable, known for employing paradox and unexpected points of comparison and contrast. In The Thing, he applied this gift to the matter of the Incarnation and the Eucharist, for Chesterton, among other things, was also a very good theologian.
“Heaven,” he wrote, “has descended into the world of matter; the supreme spiritual power is now operating by the machinery of matter, dealing miraculously with the bodies and souls of men.”
In a real way, that is a commentary on the entire Gospel of John, which is deeply incarnational and sacramental. Responding to a Protestant critic who denied that the Eucharist is the true Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of Jesus Christ, Chesterton stated that he could not understand why Protestants cannot see “that the Incarnation is as much a part of that idea as the Mass; and that the Mass is as much a part of that idea as the Incarnation.”
A Puritan—and Chesterton was addressing a certain sort of Calvinist—“may think it blasphemous that God should become a wafer,” but that stance is an illogical prejudice against the notion that “the miraculous should descend to the plane of matter…”
Put another way, to say the Eucharist cannot be Jesus Christ is a denial of several things: the words of Christ, as we hear in today’s Gospel; the Tradition of the Church, which is emphatic on this point; the power of God to become man and thus enter the material realm in a transformative way; and the goodness of the created world itself.
Chesterton emphasized the latter two points: “If it be profane that the miraculous should descend to the plane of matter, then certainly Catholicism is profane; and Protestantism is profane; and Christianity is profane.” If God did, in fact, become man and dwelt among us—see the first chapter of John’s Gospel—then heaven has invaded earth with a passionate abandon, a sort of divine recklessness, that changes everything. Everything!
This is heaven invading earth: “I am the living bread that came down from heaven; whoever eats this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world.”
That is a direct assault on our comfortable categories and tidy divisions between the ordinary and the divine. “Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life,” said Jesus, “and I will raise him on the last day.” There is no reservation about bread being boring and wine being vulgar; on the contrary, bread will become the flesh of the King of kings, and wine will become the blood of the Lord of the Universe.
Why? Because the Triune God is Creator, Giver, and Lover. He created out of love, which is his very essence. God, says the Catechism, “has no other reason for creating than his love and goodness: ‘Creatures came into existence when the key of love opened his hand’” (CCC, 293).
God desires to feed us, but he doesn’t want us to settle for mere bread, not even miraculous bread, as we hear in the first reading. For we cannot really live by bread alone, but live, ultimately, “by every word that comes forth from the mouth of the LORD.”
And Who is the word that comes forth from the mouth of the Lord?
Jesus Christ, the Word incarnate, who is the Bread from Heaven. And the bread we break, having been consecrated and changed by the power of God, the Holy Spirit, is the body of Christ, as St. Paul reminded the Corinthians.
Heaven, indeed, has descended into the world of matter, and we partake of the very King of Heaven, under the form of the most ordinary bread.
(Note: This “Opening the Word” column originally appeared in the June 22, 2014, issue of Our Sunday Visitor newspaper.)
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skeptics owe it to themselves to examine the scientific evidence regarding Eucharistic miracles. As the Shroud of Turin, the Almighty, the Merciful, has left other signs to help doubting Thomases.
The problem isn’t skeptics who demand evidence (although it is curious some skeptics accept the existence of dark matter or multiverses with the sole evidence being mathematical formula). The problem is cynics who refuse all evidence.
One of your bests, Mr. Olson, one of your bests…Thanks.
Since God did become man and dwelt among us, “then Heaven has invaded earth with passionate abandon, a sort of divine recklessness, that changes everything. Everything!” is one of the most beautiful and powerfully impactful sentences I have read in a long time. I thought, why is there not a continuation of the quotation marks to end of the paragraph? Because II thought it had to be Chesterton, it is so sublime. Wow, Mr. Olson: you know how to write, not just words, but how to write eternal truths with great power. It is refreshing and thrilling, really. Thank you.
The belief that there is a material means of actualization of spiritual blessing is idolatry. Jesus uses terms like light, water, and bread as metaphors to convey an idea about His nature… not as an actual, concrete material prescription to fulfill a need. “Take up your cross.” “Walk in the light”. “Drink this water that I give them”… These are not literally fulfilled by wood and light and water. The worship of any material icon is idolatry because it contradicts the gospel…it CHANGES the gospel into no gospel at all. And it doesn’t matter if you are Peter or Barnabas or Chesterton the entire Gallatin church, IT SIMPLY CANNOT BE ALLOWED. FAITH in Christ in heaven pleading our case is our only means of salvation. To think otherwise is to worship the bronze serpent all over again. Faith substantiates the things HOPED FOR. It gives evidence to the THINGS NOT SEEN. Do not be intimidated by ANYONE who sees great things that aren’t actually there.
“The belief that there is a material means of actualization of spiritual blessing is idolatry.”
Thus, the Incarnation means nothing at all. You are a modern-day gnostic. Further, you misrepresent Catholic (and Orthodox) beliefs and practices.
I recommend heavy doses of humility and history.
“Thus, the Incarnation means nothing at all”. I am surprised you can draw that conclusion. Just the opposite is true. It is only BECAUSE the Incarnation and its finished once-for-all accomplishments mean EVERYTHING that the addition of intrinsic meaning to tangible things like circumcision, baptism, bread, water, light, and icons CANNOT. That is the gospel. Paul said that anyone…even angels themselves.. who framed it differently should be accursed. It is neither prideful nor ignorant to stand on the Bible…where gnosis is generally spoken well of.
I drew that logical conclusion because you wrote: “The belief that there is a material means of actualization of spiritual blessing is idolatry.”
God became man. Thus, God used material means to actualize spiritual blessings.
Furthermore, Jesus used mud made from his spittle to heal a blind man.
He took bread and wine and said, “Take, eat; this is my body” and “Drink of it, all of you; 28 for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.”
He told Nicodemus: “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.”
He told the crowds and his disciples that “he who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. For my flesh is food indeed, and my blood is drink indeed.”
The Apostle Paul told the Corinthians: “The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not a participation in the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not a participation[f] in the body of Christ?”
And, a bit later: “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.”
No Christians believed these words were metaphorical until centuries later. But the early gnostics, who believed the material realm was evil (having been supposedly created the evil God of the OT), rejected the clear meaning of these words and denied the Eucharist is the Body and Blood of Christ, etc.
As do you. Hence, I conclude that you are gnostic in your beliefs, which is a grave error that many Fundamentalists embrace to some degree or another.
About the false dichotomy between the spirit and matter, the historian Charles Norris Cochran offers an insight into St. Augustine. In “Christianity and Classical Culture” Norris writes that St.Augustine came to realize that materialism and idealism, both, were nothing more than lenses imposed by the fallen intellectual on the fact that “substance” is spiritual. I summarize poorly, but point here to the nature of Ultimate Reality and even to the gratuitous and true mystery of transubstantiation (!) in the sacramental Real Presence.
Had the world not acted in self defense the Word’s invasion would have conquered. That act of self defense was his Crucifixion. Unfortunately for the forces of evil it’s through crucifixion that the Word remains to do battle.
“Heaven, indeed, has descended into the world of matter, and we partake of the very King of Heaven, under the form of the most ordinary bread”.
Thank you for this thoughtful essay, reminding us of so many things, including the great Chesterton’s writings. My favorite is his poem Lepanto, which every Catholic today, especially Popes, bishops, cardinals and priests should read:
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/47917/lepanto
“God became man. Thus, God used material means to actualize spiritual blessings.” Of course. In an HONEST discussion there is no need to state the obvious. It is Jesus, by faith, plus nothing. ANY other approach negates the sufficiency of the cross of Christ and opens the door to an unending slavery to everything imaginable. It is a horrible position to put yourself in. It is for freedom the Christ has set you free. Do not let any requirement become an additional necessary step.