The Mystery of the Eucharist Part 8

 

What Does Our Lord Mean When He Says, “Do This in Remembrance of Me”?

Is the Holy Eucharist merely a memorial of our Lord's sacrifice, or is it truly His precious Body and Blood? What did our Lord mean when He commanded His disciples, “Do this in remembrance of me”? This question goes to the heart of the Eucharistic mystery. Let us explore the words of our Lord, the teachings of the Apostles, and the faith of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church.

Some approach the mystery of Holy Scripture through personal interpretations, without considering the faith and understanding handed down by the Apostles and consequently claim that Christ’s true Body and precious Blood are “only a memorial.”

Yet, as recorded in Scripture, when our Lord took the bread, gave thanks, broke it, and gave it to His disciples, He did not say, “This bread is merely a memorial.” He declared, “This is my body.”

እንጀራንም አንሥቶ አመሰገነ ቆርሶም ሰጣቸውና፦ ስለ እናንተ የሚሰጠው ሥጋዬ ይህ ነው፤ ይህን ለመታሰቢያዬ አድርጉት አለ። (Luke 22:19–20)

ጌታችን ኅብስቱን ባርኮ ሲሰጣቸው፣ “ይህ ሥጋዬ ነው ለመታሰቢያዬ አድርጉት” አለ እንጂ፣ “ሥጋዬ መታሰቢያ ብቻ ነው” አላለም።

Likewise, when He took the cup, gave thanks, and gave it to His disciples, He did not say, “This cup is merely a memorial.” He declared, “This is my blood.”

ጽዋውንም አንሥቶ አመስግኖ ሲሰጣቸው፣ “ይህ ደሜ ነው ለመታሰቢያዬ አድርጉት” አለ እንጂ፣ “ደሜ መታሰቢያ ብቻ ነው” አላለም።

Indeed, saying “Do this in remembrance of me” is fundamentally different from saying “It is merely a memorial.”

መታሰቢያዬ አድርጉት ማለትና መታሰቢያ ብቻ ነው ማለት የተለያየ ነገር ነው።

“መታሰቢያዬ አድርጉት” does not mean “መታሰቢያ ብቻ ነው.” The former commands the Church to celebrate the Eucharist in remembrance of our Lord's saving work; the latter reduces the Holy Mystery to a mere symbolic remembrance.

The steadfast faith of the Apostles is remarkable. They saw bread, yet heard the Lord say, “This is my body”; they saw wine, yet heard Him say, “This is my blood.” They did not doubt His words or reduce them to mere symbolism. Rather, they believed that, through a divine work, the bread and wine become the true body and blood of the Lord, and they received them with faith.

In 1 Corinthians 11:24–26, Saint Paul records our Lord's words concerning the remembrance of His body and precious blood:

ጌታ ኢየሱስ አልፎ በተሰጠበት በዚያች ሌሊት እንጀራን አንሥቶ አመሰገነ፥ ቆርሶም፦ እንካችሁ ብሉ፤ ይህ ስለ እናንተ የሚሆን ሥጋዬ ነው፤ ይህን ለመታሰቢያዬ አድርጉት አለ። እንደዚሁም ከእራት በኋላ ጽዋውን ደግሞ አንሥቶ፦ ይህ ጽዋ በደሜ የሚሆን አዲስ ኪዳን ነው፤ በጠጣችሁት ጊዜ ሁሉ ይህን ለመታሰቢያዬ አድርጉት አለ። ይህን እንጀራ በበላችሁ ጊዜ ሁሉ፥ ይህንም ጽዋ በጠጣችሁ ጊዜ ሁሉ ጌታ እስኪመጣ ድረስ ሞቱን ትናገራላችሁና።

As Saint Paul further explains, our Lord's command, “ይህን ለመታሰቢያዬ አድርጉት,” reminds us that whenever the faithful gather to give thanks and partake of the Holy Eucharist, they remember and proclaim the saving work of our Lord—His suffering, crucifixion, death, Resurrection, and Ascension.

ቅዱስ ጳውሎስ  ጌታችን ለመታሰቢያዬ አድርጉት ያለበትን ምክንያት ሲያስረዳ፣

“ይህን እንጀራ በበላችሁ ጊዜ ሁሉ፥ ይህንም ጽዋ በጠጣችሁ ጊዜ ሁሉ ጌታ እስኪመጣ ድረስ ሞቱን ትናገራላችሁና።” (1 Corinthians 11:26)

Accordingly, the Holy Church believes the command, “Do this in remembrance of me,” as a call for the faithful, whenever they gather for the Holy Eucharist, to remember and proclaim our Lord's suffering, scourging, crucifixion, death, Resurrection, and Ascension.

በዚህም መሠረት፣ ቅድስት ቤተ ክርስቲያን “ይህን ለመታሰቢያዬ አድርጉት” የሚለውን ቃል፣ ምዕመናን  ለቅዱስ ቁርባን በተሰበሰቡ ጊዜ የጌታችንን መከራ፣ ግርፋት፣ ስቅለት፣ ሞት፣ ትንሣኤና ዕርገት እንዲያስቡና እንዲያውጁ የተሰጠ ትእዛዝ እንደሆነ ታምናለች።

The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church, without altering, adding to, or taking away from the teaching of the Apostles, proclaims during the Divine Liturgy:

“ንዜኑ ሞተከ እግዚኦ ወትንሣኤከ ቅድስተ...። __ አቤቱ ሞትህንና ቅድስት ትንሣኤህን እንናገራለን...።”

When our Lord said, “Do this in remembrance of me,” He was calling us to remember the heavenly love revealed through His saving sacrifice and to encounter this divine love as we receive the Holy Eucharist. He was not teaching that the Eucharist is merely a memorial.

ጌታችን “ለመታሰቢያዬ አድርጉት” ሲል፣ “ቅዱስ ቁርባንን በተቀበላችሁ ጊዜ በእናንተ ላይ የተገለጠውን ሰማያዊ ፍቅር አስቡ” ማለቱ ነው እንጂ “ቅዱስ ቁርባን መታሰቢያ ብቻ ነው” ማለቱ አይደለም።”

St. Paul writes: “ስለዚህ ሳይገባው ይህን እንጀራ የበላ ወይም የጌታን ጽዋ የጠጣ ሁሉ የጌታ ሥጋና ደም ዕዳ አለበት።.” (1 Corinthians 11:27)

If the Holy Eucharist were merely a memorial or a symbolic sign, why would the Apostle Paul warn that anyone who receives it unworthily becomes guilty of the Body and Blood of the Lord?

መታሰቢያ ብቻ ቢሆን ኖሮ፣ ሳይገባው የተቀበለ ሁሉ በጌታ ሥጋና ደም ላይ ዕዳ አለበት አይባልም ነበር።

How Should We Understand the Claim That “Jesus Judges, but His Body and Blood Intercede for Us”?

Some Protestant denominations teach that Jesus sits on His throne as Judge, while His Body and Blood in the Holy Eucharist intercede for us. To support this view, they cite Church texts, including passages from the Liturgy of the Apostles, even though these passages were intended to convey a different message. Interestingly, they cite the liturgical books of a Church whose teachings and traditions they do not otherwise accept.

But what does it mean to say, “Jesus judges, but His Flesh and Blood intercede”? Is there a distinction between Christ Himself and His own Flesh and Blood? Is Christ separate from His Flesh and Blood?

Such a teaching divides Christ into two separate and independent realities, reflecting the Christological heresy of Nestorianism. It undermines the Church’s teaching that His divinity and humanity are united in the one incarnate nature of the Word of God.

We, in the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church, partake of the one Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, who is fully divine and fully human in His one incarnate nature and grants us eternal life. His Body and Blood are never separate from Him, for they belong to the one incarnate Son of God.

እኛ ግን የምንቆርበው በተዋሕዶተ መለኮት የከበረውን፥ የአንዱን የኢየሱስ ክርስቶስን ሥጋና ደም ነው፤ እርሱም የዘለዓለምን ሕይወት የሚሰጥ ነው።

This is why the Apostle St. Paul teaches:

“የምንባርከው የበረከት ጽዋ ከክርስቶስ ደም ጋር ኅብረት ያለው አይደለምን? የምንቆርሰውስ እንጀራ ከክርስቶስ ሥጋ ጋር ኅብረት ያለው አይደለምን?” (1 Corinthians 10:16)

Conclusion:

The Holy Eucharist is not merely an act of remembering a sacrifice that took place long ago; it is our participation in the saving mystery of our Lord Jesus Christ. Through it, we remember and proclaim His suffering, death, and Resurrection while partaking of His precious Body and Blood, which grant us eternal life. Therefore, “Do this in remembrance of me” is a sacred command to remember and proclaim His saving work and to partake of the one Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, fully divine and fully human in His one incarnate nature.

Thank You, God, for guiding us to complete this series on the Mystery of the Holy Eucharist. Though Your divine mystery surpasses human understanding, we are grateful for the truth You have revealed to us. May all glory be Yours forever. Amen.