The doctrine of the Real Presence, as laid out by Jesus himself in John 6, lies at the heart of the Catholic faith. More than that, however, Jesus’ words essentially form the cornerstone of the Christian faith: “I am the Bread of Life.” Christ alone is the means by which humanity truly lives.
Implied in this proclamation is the need to eat and drink from Christ himself and be nourished by him. As Archbishop Aquila, Bishop Barron and other contributors have expounded upon in the most recent issue of the Denver Catholic magazine and elsewhere, Jesus doesn’t mince words when speaking about what we must do with his body and blood to have life within us, and he offers no qualifiers or clarifications.
This point that Jesus makes in John 6 about his flesh and blood has been one of the primary sources of division among his body. Did he mean it literally, or is it merely symbolic? Much has been said, written and debated about this throughout Church history, but even today, Christians still quarrel amongst themselves — just as they who were present for Jesus’ teaching in John 6 did.
When it comes to matters of faith such as belief in the Real Presence, sometimes it’s helpful to take a step back and see how the power of Jesus can bridge denominational divides and present opportunities for ecumenical dialogue, charitable discourse, and ultimately, transformation that can only happen through the workings of the Holy Spirit. One example of such a transformation is Francis Chan, a popular protestant evangelical pastor best known for his Crazy Love ministry, which takes its namesake from the 2008 best-selling book written by Chan.
Over the past several years, Chan has spoken more and more about Christian unity, and fittingly, he frames it through the ancient practice of communion — the breaking of the bread. In a 2020 sermon, he said: “I didn’t know that for the first 1,500 years of Church history, everyone saw it as the literal body and blood of Christ. […] I didn’t know that. I thought, ‘Wow, that’s something to consider.’ … For 1,500 years, it was never one guy and his pulpit being the center of the church, it was the body and blood of Christ.”
Chan began to learn more about the early church and the way the early Christians would gather to “break bread,” as it describes in Sacred Scripture. He came to recognize that the early Church had nothing that we do today — the Bible, megachurches, or flashy stages, — but that what they did have was communion, the breaking of the bread. Since then, he’s shared that he and other members of his church have taken up the regular practice of gathering together around the bread and the cup to pray and receive communion.
“This is my favorite thing to do on earth now,” Chan said. “I know that sounds weird, but the early church, they were obsessed with this, because there was some way that they were communing with God. That’s why we call it communion — it’s this unity you can have with Christ at the table.”
In response to these revelations, Chan has come under fire by some of his protestant brothers and sisters for sounding too…well, Catholic. And indeed, Chan’s own newfound convictions about communion sound a lot like Catholic teaching on the Real Presence. But it wasn’t a priest or fellow Catholic who led him here — it was the words of scripture, a deep dive into Church history and above all, fervent prayer.
What’s more is that when speaking about communion, Chan also references another key passage which bespeaks the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist: The Road to Emmaus. The disciples don’t recognize Jesus while he is explaining to the Gospels to them; it is only when Jesus breaks bread that they knew they were in the presence of the Lord.
“Something happened in the breaking of the bread, that’s why these early believers were devoted to this,” Chan said. “Paul said this is the way you declare his death until he returns. The way we proclaim it is not [to] get the best speaker [to] explain the gospel, no, because Jesus himself was explaining the Gospel on the Road to Emmaus.
“It was when he broke the bread, there was something that happened. When he blessed that bread and that cup, suddenly their eyes were opened. That’s why the early church looked at this and said, ‘OK, Jesus said this is my body, broken for you.’ There was something real about this.”
Chan is not the first non-Catholic Christian pastor to have the Lord speak these truths into his heart, nor will he be the last. Regardless of where the Lord leads Chan, one thing is for certain: when we eat of the bread and drink of the cup, we commune with God — with love — himself. It’s a mystery of the realest variety.