The Mystery of the Eucharist: Part 2

The Holy Eucharist is the great mystery instituted by our Lord Jesus Christ for the life and salvation of His Church. In this mystery, Christ gives us His true Body and Precious Blood and unites us more deeply with Himself. This part explores how the Eucharist was instituted in the New Testament and the abundant graces we receive through worthy participation in it.

By whom and how was the Eucharist instituted in the New Testament?

The mystery of the Eucharist was instituted by our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Saint Matthew records its institution as follows:

“ሲበሉም ኢየሱስ እንጀራን አንሥቶ ባረከ ቈርሶም ለደቀ መዛሙርቱ ሰጠና፦ እንካችሁ፥ ብሉ ይህ ሥጋዬ ነው አለ። ጽዋንም አንሥቶ አመስግኖም ሰጣቸው እንዲህም አለ፦ ሁላችሁ ከእርሱ ጠጡ፤ ስለ ብዙዎች ለኃጢአት ይቅርታ የሚፈስ የአዲስ ኪዳን ደሜ ይህ ነው።” (Matthew 26:26–28).

The sacrifices offered in the Old Testament typified Christ’s perfect and saving sacrifice. In the fullness of time, Christ offered Himself as the true and perfect sacrifice for the salvation of the world. Before His death, He instituted this mystery so that not only those who were present at that time, but also all who would believe in Him until the end of the world, might partake of its saving grace. He declared, “ሥጋዬን የሚበላ ደሜንም የሚጠጣ የዘላለም ሕይወት አለው።” (John 6:54), teaching that through participation in His Body and Blood, believers receive eternal life and communion with Him.

When the Jews first heard this teaching, they struggled to understand its divine mystery and asked, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?” “እንግዲህ አይሁድ፦ ይህ ሰው ሥጋውን ልንበላ ይሰጠን ዘንድ እንዴት ይችላል? ብለው እርስ በርሳቸው ተከራከሩ።” (John 6:52).

Even many of His disciples found these words difficult to accept: “ከደቀ መዛሙርቱም ብዙዎች በሰሙ ጊዜ፦ ይህ የሚያስጨንቅ ንግግር ነው፤ ማን ሊሰማው ይችላል? አሉ።” (John 6:60). However, after the coming of the Holy Spirit, the apostles faithfully proclaimed the mystery of Christ. Scripture bears witness to this: “በሐዋርያትም ትምህርትና በኅብረት እንጀራውንም በመቍረስ በየጸሎቱም ይተጉ ነበር…።” (Acts 2:42–47). The Church therefore continued to live out this mystery through the breaking of bread, fellowship, and prayer.

What is the grace received from partaking of the Eucharist?

Although the blessings and graces bestowed through the Holy Body and Precious Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ are beyond measure, the Holy Eucharist grants us, among many others, the following graces:

The Holy Eucharist grants eternal life (ዘላለማዊ ሕይወት). Our Lord declared in His infallible Word that the Holy Eucharist grants eternal life, saying:

“ሥጋዬን የሚበላ ደሜንም የሚጠጣ የዘላለም ሕይወት አለው፥ እኔም በመጨረሻው ቀን አስነሣዋለሁ።” (John 6:54).

By receiving the Holy Eucharist—the true Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ—we receive the promise of eternal life. “ቅርጫፍ ከግንዱ እስካልተለየ ድረስ ልምላሜ፣ ጽጌ ፣ ፍሬና ሕይወት እንዲኖረው ሁሉ ክርስቲያኖችም እውነተኛ የወይን ግንድ ከሆነው ከአምላካችን ከኢየሱስ ክርስቶስ አለመለየታቸውንና በሕይወት መኖራቸውን ቅዱስ ቁርባንን በመቀበል ያረጋግጣሉ።” (cf. John 15:1, 4–5).

Through the Holy Eucharist, the Flesh and Blood of Christ unite us to Him, and we are made truly alive (ሕያዋን) in Him. For our Lord further declares: “ሥጋዬን የሚበላ ደሜንም የሚጠጣ በእኔ ይኖራል፤ እኔም በእርሱ እኖራለሁ።” (John 6:56).

The Holy Eucharist brings the remission of sins (የኃጢአት ሥርየት). Our fathers teach, “There is no man who does not sin, nor wood that does not burn; there is no metal that does not rust, and no human who does not make an error.” Because of the weakness of our fallen human nature, we sometimes fall into sin. We therefore confess our sins to the priest, receive the appropriate canon, complete our repentance, and, with the priest’s permission, receive Holy Communion. Through sincere repentance and participation in the Holy Eucharist, our sins are forgiven and destroyed like butter thrown into the fire, setting us free.

The Body and Blood of the Lord bring the remission of sins. Christ Himself declared, “ስለ ብዙዎች ለኃጢአት ይቅርታ የሚፈስ የአዲስ ኪዳን ደሜ ይህ ነው።” (Matt. 26:28). Before His Body was broken and His Blood was shed on the Cross, He blessed the bread and the cup and gave them to His disciples as His Body and Blood. Through this divine institution, the Holy Church, the Body of Christ, continues to give His holy Body and Precious Blood to the faithful for the forgiveness of sins until the end of the age.

As Felix says, “Sins committed after baptism are forgiven by repentance and the Eucharist,” “ከጥምቀት በኋላ የተሠራ ኃጢአት በንስሐና በሥጋ ወደሙ ይሰረያል።”

Saint John urges us, “ልጆቼ ሆይ፥ ኃጢአትን እንዳታደርጉ ይህን እጽፍላችኋለሁ። ማንም ኃጢአትን ቢያደርግ ከአብ ዘንድ ጠበቃ አለን እርሱም ጻድቅ የሆነ ኢየሱስ ክርስቶስ ነው።” (1 John 2:1). Although our human weakness may lead us into sin and grieve God, He graciously calls us to repentance and offers us forgiveness. The Holy Eucharist, a manifestation of God’s goodness, is the living covenant through which those who repent return to God and receive His saving grace.

When the faithful receive the Holy Eucharist worthily, following repentance and proper preparation according to the Orthodox faith, they receive the remission of sins as noted above, are strengthened against the bondage of sin, and enter into deeper fellowship with Christ and His saints. Saint Paul bears witness to this, “የምንባርከው የበረከት ጽዋ ከክርስቶስ ደም ጋር ኅብረት ያለው አይደለምን? የምንቆርሰውስ እንጀራ ከክርስቶስ ሥጋ ጋር ኅብረት ያለው አይደለምን?” (1 Corinthians 10:16). Through this communion in the Body and Blood of Christ, the faithful are united with Him and, as one Body, share in His divine life.

The Holy Eucharist serves as a halter (ልጓም) against sin. When a Christian worthily receives the Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, he receives spiritual strength to restrain himself from falling into sin. Through the grace of the Holy Spirit, the body is strengthened so that sinful desires do not rule over him. Christ, who unites Himself with us through His Body and Blood, protects and guides us away from sin and continually reminds us that “የኃጢአት ደመወዝ ሞት ነውና…” (Romans 6:23).

Through participation in this holy mystery, the Spirit of God dwells within us and leads us toward holiness and righteousness. Therefore, we are strengthened to practice righteousness, resist sinful desires, and turn away from whatever separates us from God. As we become more deeply united with God through the grace of the Holy Eucharist, we increasingly come to hate sin and love righteousness. For we have received the Food of Life (የሕይወት እንጀራ), through which we grow in spiritual knowledge and are enriched by the grace of the Holy Spirit (በመንፈሳዊ ዕውቀት የምናድግበትና በጸጋ መንፈስ ቅዱስ የምንበለጽግበትን ምግበ ሕይወት አግኝተናልና ነው።).

Our Lord Himself declared:

“የሕይወት እንጀራ እኔ ነኝ፡፡ ወደ እኔ የሚመጣ ከቶ አይራብም፡፡ በእኔ የሚያምን ሁል ጊዜ ከቶ አይጠማም….ሥጋዬ እውነተኛ መብል ደሜ እውነተኛ መጠጥ ነውና” (John 6:35–55).

Conclusion:

The Holy Eucharist is truly the Food of Life and the mystery of our communion with Christ. Through worthy participation, we receive His saving grace, the promise of eternal life, the remission of sins, and strength against sin. Thus, the Holy Eucharist remains at the heart of Christian life, continually uniting the faithful with Christ and nurturing them in holiness, righteousness, and hope.