rz, the mental gymnastics are unbelievable.
Is not the bread we break a participation in the Body of Christ?
one word you will never find connected to the Eucharist in the NT is the word “represents”
only when the 16th century so called “reformers” did the “represent” doctrine hit the world scene.
let’s look at another verse:
1 Corinthians 11:27-29
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. let a man examine himself, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup. for anyone who eats and drinks WITHOUT DISCERNING THE BODY eats and drinks judgement upon himself.
some still don’t DISCERN THE BODY. how can anybody be guilty of profaning the body and blood of the Lord, if the Lord is not present?
You eat the broken bread and drink of the cup to remember the sacrifice Jesus made on the Cross...You eat and drink as a Christian...If you eat the bread and take the drink while not being a Christian, you have profaned Jesus' death and the blood he shed on the Cross for you...
For Christians, the Lord is always present...We don't need bread and wine for the Lord to be present...We break, eat and drink the stuff to put His sacrifice on the Cross foremost in our memory...
What do you guys do at home or work during the week when a crisis shows up, run to the nearest parish to grab a wafer???