Denver Catholic

12 SEPTEMBER 14-27, 2019 | DENVER CATHOLIC Old Testament Foreshadowing New Testament After eating the fruit from the forbidden tree, Adam and Eve are denied the fruit of the Tree of Life. Many Church Fathers saw the Tree of Life as a prefi guration of the Cross, and the fruit of the Tree of Life as a prefi guration of the Eucharist, the Body of Christ, which hung from the Cross. Revelation says that God will grant people to eat from the Tree of Life (Rev 2:7). Pseudo-Hippolytus writes around the 4th century, "So in place of the old tree, [Christ] plants a new one… For me the cross is the tree of eternal salvation; from it I nourish myself, from it I feed myself" (On the Pasch, L-LI). Also, St. Augustine says, "We too are fed from the Lord's Cross… when we eat his body" (On Psalm 100:9). Jesus was born in Bethlehem, which in Hebrew means "House of Bread." God tests Abraham by asking him to sacrifi ce his "only-be- gotten son Isaac" (Gen 22:2s). Isaac asks his father why there is a fi re but no lamb for a burnt o" ering. Abrahams responds: "God will provide himself the lamb for a burnt o" ering." Jesus is the "Lamb of God" (Jn 1:29) ož ered in sacrifi ce for men, and a he's also the "only-be- gotten Son" of God (Jn 1:18). Jesus himself foreshadowed the Eucharist before insti- tuting it in order to prepare his disciples to receive it. In the feeding of the fi ve thousand, he performs the same four actions he will use during the Last Supper: "taking the fi ve loaves and the two fi sh he looked up to heaven, and blessed, and broke, and gave the loves to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds" (Mt 14:19). During the Last Supper, Matthew also writes, "Jesus took the bread, and blessed, and broke it, and gave it to the disciples and said, 'Take, eat; this is my body'" (26:26). In preparation for the Passover, God also com- mands his people to eat "unleavened bread" (Ex 12:15s), which was meant to symbolize the hurry with which they were fl ee- ing Egypt — they did not have time to let it rise. According to Matthew and Mark, Jesus instituted the Eucharist on "the fi rst day of Unleavened Bread" (Mt 26:17; Mk 14:12). In the Latin Rite, the Church still uses unleavened bread for the Eucha- rist, and sees the origin of this tradition in the Passover. In the Gospel of Matthew, a unique word stands out during the Our Father prayer: "Give us this day our daily (Greek: epiou- sios) bread" (Mt 6:11). Epiousios is not used anywhere else in the Bible, except in Lk 11:3, in the same prayer. St. Jerome's translation of Matthew into Latin is more literal and trans- lates this word as "supersubstantial." Supersub- stantial means above all substance or superior to all things. Therefore, many Church Fathers understood the petition for "our supersubstantial bread" to refer to the Eucharist. "Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine; he was a priest of God the Most High. And he blessed [Abram]" (Gen 14:18-19). He is said to foreshadow Christ's priesthood, who also ož ered bread and wine: "[Melchizedek] is without father or mother or genealogy, and has neither beginning of days nor end of life, but resembling the Son of God he con- tinues a priest forever" (Heb 7:3). St. Jerome wrote in the 5th century, "Just as Melchizedek had done, the priest of the Most high, when he ož ered bread and wine in the prefi guration of him, he [Christ] too would present it in the truth of his own body and blood (Commentary on Matthew IV). "Behold the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world" (Jn 1:29). John the Baptist refers to Jesus with these words, drawing on the importance of the lamb in the Old Testament. It is in Jesus' death and resurrection that these references come to fulfi llment, and ultimately in the way he chose to stay "until the end of time," that is, in the Eucharist. For this reason, the priest uses John the Baptist's very words during the Mass as he elevates the consecrated Host: "Behold the Lamb of God, behold him who takes away the sins of the world." MELCHIZEDEK "THE LAMB OF GOD" PASSOVER LAMB NO MERE SYMBOLISM ISAAC UNLEAVENED BREAD THE OUR FATHER THE TREE OF LIFE 1. 1. 2. 4. 3. 5. BETHLEHEM To deliver the Israelites from Egypt, God commands Moses to tell his people: "Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male… they shall take some of the blood and put it on the doorposts… They shall eat the fl esh that nigh" (Ex 12: 5-8). St. Paul writes: "For Christ, our Paschal Lamb, has been sacrifi ced" (1 Cor 5:7). Jesus is identifi ed with the Passover lamb, and the eating of the lamb with the eating of Jesus' body, as Jesus says: "For my fl esh is food indeed, and my blood is drink indeed" (Jn 6:55). Jesus himself made it clear that he was not speaking metaphorically when he said, "I am the living bread which came down from heaven; if anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread which I shall give for the life of the world is my fl esh" (Jn 6: 51). When the Jews take this to be ridiculous in the literal sense — "How can this man give us his fl esh to eat?" (6:52) — Jesus reiterates that he's not speaking metaphori- cally: "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the fl esh of the Son of man and drink his blood, you have no life in you… For my fl esh is food indeed, and my blood is drink indeed" (6:53-55). And to extinguish any type of confusion, he adds a new word, "he who eats [Greek: trogon] me will live because of me" (6:57). In Greek, "trogon" means "chew" or "gnaw" and not just "eat." Many of his disciples could not accept this clear teaching, "drew back and no longer walked with him" (6:60,66). MIRACLE OF THE LOAVES Jesus himself foreshadowed the Eucharist before insti- tuting it in order to prepare his disciples to receive it. disciples gave them to the crowds" (Mt 14:19). During the Last Supper, Matthew also writes, "Jesus took the In the Gospel of Matthew, a unique word stands out during the Our Father prayer: "Give us this day our daily (Greek: sios anywhere else in the Bible, except in Lk 11:3, in the same prayer. St. Jerome's translation of Matthew into Latin is more literal and trans- lates this word as "supersubstantial." Supersub- stantial means above all substance or superior to Institution 3. 2. 4.

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