Sorry for the delay. I went out and, while raking leaves, tripped on uneven groun) and banged my left knee and elbow pretty hard. Nothing broken, but that was the elbow I crunched up 4 1/2 years ago in a bike crash and it's always easy to hurt and long to heal. Aching all over this morning, stood in bed (as we say) --- OK, now I'm back at the keyboard again.
I don't want to argue a bunch about the Eucharist right now, but maybe later when I have something new to offer instead of the same-old "But John 6!" "Wild Semitic hyerbole!" "Come let us adore!" "Uhh, he said He's a door?" "Did He?" "Didn't He?" "Didache!" "Didache right back atcha!"
Beinst my Don-o is Russian Orthodox, I'm always mindful that different terminology someimes approaches the same Truth. I don't say all the differenes are "just" terminology, but that can be a a lot of it.
One thing I do want to say about the "I am the Door," "I am the shepherd," "I am the sheepgate," examples. When He said that, it is not recorded that this provoked major problems with any of his disciples. People didn't jump up and say,
In other words, they were sensible people who knew a metaphor when they heard one. But "I am the Bread of Life... Unless you eat my flesh and drink my blood, you will no life within you..." Controversy, crisis, and a major walk-out. One wonders why there was such a difference.
And why Jesus didn't yell, "Wait! Come back! It's just a manner of speaking!"
:o)
OK, have a good evening. I'm over-and-out until tomorrow.
I know you are away from the keyboard, so this isn't to try and pull you back. But, again, the problem is not what Jesus said, the problem is that whence cometh the justification to expand this into, "So what I mean fellas is have a guy who graduates from a Roman seminary, dressed in appropriate vestments, decked out with a chain and cross, stand before the crowd and lift up some bread and wine and pronounce words over it and you will be amazed...I will transubstantiate this into my real body and blood and you can actually partake of me. Do it over and over, again."? See the ginormous leap?
No question that we must eat his flesh and drink His blood, as we must enter through Him as a Door. But, He did not give orders for men to stand before doors and transubstantiate them into Him. You seem to take it that this would be obvious...well the same applies to the celebration meal. He simply said, "Do this in REMEMBRANCE of Me." He did not say, "So do this to transubstantiate the common materials into my real body and blood."
I give you the last word. Whenver you become available. Grace to you, my FRiend.