The Mass - Meal and Sacrifice - Intro and Jewish Origins - PART 1

THE MASS - MEAL AND SACRIFICE

INTRODUCTION

“And taking bread, he gave thanks, and brake; and gave to them, saying: This is my body which is given for you. Do this for a commemoration of me” (Luke 22:19)

Ever since the words were spoken the Catholic Church has been asking itself, “what exactly did Jesus mean by this?” What exactly does “do this” encompass? Did Jesus mean this as a meal, or something deeper? Was this merely a remembering of a past event, or something more? Was this an independent event, or was it somehow connected to other events? Throughout the centuries, this “seed” so to speak, the small acorn that was planted with the words “Do this”, has grown into a gigantic oak tree of doctrine knowledge, and spiritual understanding. Even though this will always remain a mystery, let’s look at how we have travelled from a simple meal, to ur current gatherings at Mass that take place every day throughout the whole world.

OLD TESTAMENT AND JEWISH ORIGINS

Traditionally it has been held that there was a preparation for the Eucharist in the Old Testament. Some examples are, in the presentation of bread and wine by Melchizedek, King of Salem (Genesis 14:18),  in the offerings of fine flour and wine (Lev 23:13). In the descriptions of the meal to which wisdom invites (Prov 9:1-5), in the Passover, and the the “Kiddush”, which is a ceremony of prayer and blessing over wine. These five examples present us with the idea of the Eucharist as both a meal and a sacrifice. A very important foreshadowing of the sacrificial nature of the Eucharist is found in the offering of Melchizedek:

“But Melchizedek the king of Salem, bringing forth bread and wine, for he was the priest of the most high God, blessed him” (Gen 14:18)

According to the traditional interpretation, Melchizedek brought out bread and wine, in order to offer a sacrifice to God, as was customary in the celebrations of victory, and not for the refreshment of the weary warriors. This interpretation is affirmed by the express indication of. Melchizedeks priesthoood. The specific priestly activity is sacrifice.

This Priestly activity is mentioned again, and more clearly points to Jesus, in Psalm 109:

Psalm 109 verse 4 states, “The Lord hath sworn, and he will not repent: Thou art a priest forever according to the order of Melchisedech”, and the Epistle to the Hebrews confirms this. Jesus is King and Priest at the same time, and according to the interpretation of Tradition, offers a sacrifice similar to that of Melchisedech. This sacrifice can only refer to the proffering of His Body and Blood under the forms of bread and wine at the Last Supper and in the Holy Mass.

The Eucharistic ritual finds its origins in the customs associated with Jewish meals. Food, particularly bread, is taken and God is praised and “blessed” for sustaining the human race. After a meal, a longer “grace after meals”, the birkat ha-mazon, is recited. Through this prayer, those present give thanks to God and intercede on behalf lf all of Israel. Many scholars suggest that the birkat ha-mazon is the ancestor of the Christian Eucharistic prayer.

Perhaps the most striking liturgical “ancestor” of the Mass is the “todah” of ancient Israel. The Hebrew word todah, like the Greek Eucharist, means “thank offering” or thanksgiving. The word denotes a sacrificial  meal shared with friends in order to celebrate ones gratitude to God. Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger (Pope Benedict), has written, “Structurally speaking, the whole of Christianity, indeed the whole of Eucharistic Christology, is present in the todah spiritually of the Old Testament”. Both the todah and the Eucharist present their worship through word and meal. Moreover, the todah, like the Mass, includes an unbloody offering of unleavened bread and wine.

However, in in ancient Israel the most important ritual meal was the one which celebrated the Passover, the passing over of Yahweh who slew the first-born of the Egyptians and the crossing over of the Hebrews from slavery to freedom through the Red Sea. Yahweh had ordered them to sacrifice a lamb and sprinkle its blood on their doorposts to protect them against death, and to eat their last meal in Egypt with unleavened bread since they would not have time to wait for it to rise (Exodus 12). The meal commemorating this event was celebrated every spring, and in Jesus’ time it began with a prayer and thanksgiving to God, and a first course of bitter relishes which symbolized the bitterness of the Hebrews’ slavery. Then, after the story of the first Passover was read, the meal of roasted lamb was eaten with wine and unleavened bread, over which further prayers ob blessing and thanks were offered. The meal ended with a psalm of praise and a final thanksgiving prayer over the last cup of wine. 

The Passover supper was fundamentally a sacramental meal, a reenactment of sacred event by means of which those events became real and present to the people who shared it. Through eating bitter herbs, Jews tasted the bitterness of their ancestors’ slavery in Egypt. Through reclining on couches as only free men were allowed, they sensed the freedom that their God had given them. Through the retelling of the story and the sharing of the meal, they remembered the events of the exodus and in a way, relived those events. For the Passover supper, to devout Jews at least, not only commemorated the pat but made it present. It enabled them to reenter those past events and to experience vividly the meaning of their salvation. It made the God of Israel present to them, and they to Him, in a fuller and richer way. This ritual meal was a complex symbol into which Jews could e enter and encounter the God of their fathers. It was a door to the sacred through which they could pass from everyday existence into the sacred space and time of the exodus. We will return to the concept of sacrament when discussing the Eucharist later.

Other examples of sacrificial offerings in the Old Testament are Cain and Abel, burnt offerings from Noah, Abraham, Jacob, and others. In Genesis, patriarchs were forever building altars, and altars served primarily a places of sacrifice, In addition to burnt offerings, the ancients sometimes poured “libations” or sacrificial offerings of wine.

END OF PART 1