Eucharist

Adam and Eve were set in Paradise in an intermediary state where they had to decide from their own free will to accept either immortality or mortality. In their decision, they failed and they began to give in to death. If they had obeyed the commandment of God they would have been given the permission not only to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, but also from the Tree of Life, and thus entered into the eternal life.

Partaking of the Eucharist is the promised eating from the Tree of Life. The commandment was to make Adam/humanity to toil and earn the crown. Only if one has toiled would he enjoy the reward. In the initial Paradise, God gave Adam the fruits of the trees. But in the eschatological Paradise, God provided the planter of the trees himself (Christ) as our food in the Eucharist (cf. Armenian Hymns 49).

One who eats of the spiritual bread will become an eagle that can fly to Paradise on clouds and meet the Son of God (Hymns on Unleavened Bread 17:11-12). Imageries of Christ the Eagle and Christians who become eagles are powerful. One biblical image presents Eucharist as 'Coal of Fire' with reference to Is 6:6, where a coal of fire simply touched the lips of Isaiah by which his lips were purified and his sins were blotted out. But the Eucharist, in our case, is not only touching our lips, but in fact we are consuming it and we become totally purified.

The seraph could not touch the coal of fire with his fingers,
and the coal merely touched Isaiah's mouth:
the seraph did not hold it, Isaiah did not consume it,
but our Lord has allowed us to do both (Hymns on Faith 10:10)

Divine fire has double action: it burns and destroys sins; it sanctifies as well. Christ is the 'Coal of Fire', which came down to burn away thorns and thistles (Gen 3:18), and dwelt in the womb for refining and sanctifying the place of Pangs and curses (Gen 3:16). Ephrem compares the presence of Christ in the womb of Mary as well as in the River Jordan and in the Eucharistic bread:

See, Fire and Spirit are in the womb of her who bore you,
see, Fire and Spirit are in the river in which you were baptized.
Fire and Spirit are in our baptismal font,
in the Bread and Cup are Fire and Holy Spirit (Hymns on Faith 10:17)

Old Testament Types of Eucharist

Offering of Melchizedek (Gen 14:18-20); Three angels visiting Abraham (Gen 18:1-8); The sacrifice of Isaac (Gen 22); Paschal Lamb of Egypt (Ex 12); Manna in the Desert (Ex 16:4-26); The Bronze serpent (Num 21:4-9); The flour and Oil of the widow of Seraptha (1 King 17:8-16); Cluster of grapes from the valley of Eshcol (Num 13:23); Bread of Elijah (1 King 19:1-9); Isaiah's coal of fire (Is 6:6-7).

New Testament Types of Eucharist

Miracle of loaves (Jn 6:1-13; Mt 14:13-21; Mk 6:30-44; Lk 9:10-17); Wedding at Cana (water made wine, Jn 2:1-11); Three measures of flour a woman mixed (Mt 13:33; Lk 13:20-21); Last supper at Cenacle and the death on the cross (Mt 26:17 - 27:50 and parallels); The pierced side of Christ (Jn 19:34).

Index   Seven Sacraments   Baptism   Eucharist   Confirmation
Holy Orders   Marriage   Reconciliation   Anointing

Copyright © 2005, SyroMalabar.com.  All rights reserved.