The Estuary of Theology

7. Do This in Remembrance of Me This time I would like to discuss why Jesus said, “ Do this in remembrance of me. ” (cf. Luke 22:19), when he instituted the Eucharist, and make the discussion a supplementary explanation of the fact that the Eucharist is eternal life. The reason why Jesus talked about the bread of life in such a patient way in Chapter 6 of the Gospel of John* is because Jesus’ word of instituting the Eucharist was not a metaphor but God’s reality. Jesus well knew how difficult it was for people to literally accept the word he spoke that he would give them his body to eat. And he said, “ Do you take offense at this? ” (John 6:61), knowing the disciples murmured at this. Even now many Christians take offence at this and leave themselves ignorant of the fact that the Eucharist is eternal life. When Jesus asked, “ Will you also go away? ” (John 6:67), Peter answered, “ Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life ; and we have believed, and hav

6. The Eucharist and Eternal Life (3)　 (Modified in Mar. 2020) God granted every living thing the faculty of memorizing what they experienced according to their ability. Human beings, who ate the fruits of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and obtained knowledge, make the knowledge (the memory of knowledge) a recognition based on the memory that they actually experienced. The knowledge that one got is proved through an experience (or an experiment) and becomes a recognition. This recognition is shared by many people, and the sharing of recognition has brought about great progress and evolution to humanity. A recognition is the union of the memory of knowledge and the memory of experience.  Eternal life is the recognition of becoming the one who lives forever. God, in order to give people this recognition, did not simply give them only the knowledge of God but arranged for their memory of the knowledge of God to be united with their memory of actual experience. He

5. The Eucharist and Eternal Life (2)    (Modified in Feb. 2020) Referring to Genesis as we did in the previous issue, I would like to continue my discussion focusing on the human creation and the mystery of Incarnation and then on the Eucharist and the mystery of priesthood connecting the description of Genesis and that of the New Testament so that we can grasp the course of God’s plan and make it clear that the Eucharist is eternal life. Jesus’ words and deeds in the Gospel show that God has a mind. Therefore, we can say that the breath of life which God breathed into the nostrils of the man for the first time was the free mind. It is not a creature because it was from God and of God. We can understand that each persona of God, who calls Himself “we” (cf. Genesis 1:26, 3:22, 11:7, Isaiah 6:8), shares knowledge within the Trinity. Moreover, while they are as if neighbours one another, they are perfectly united with each other spontaneously, and God calls this

4. The Eucharist and Eternal Life (1) The other day, one of my friends who read the second issue of “The Estuary of Theology” asked me a question. The question was as to why the Eucharist could be said to be eternal life. I think it is better to try to answer it first and then to go on because answering this question will not make us go out of our way to discuss the four people standing by the cross but will be beneficial. I understand that the answer to the question has its entrance in the interpretation of Genesis. So, I would like to dig into this theme following the description of Genesis. Genesis reads, “ In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. ” (Genesis 1:1) This phrase means that in the beginning, God created his own place and the place for creations. After that, God prepared the place on the earth for creations first, which we can understand from the word of Jesus saying that he will go and prepare a place to take people to the heavens.* Then I

3. The Eyes of John the Evangelist Before looking at the four people who were standing by the cross described in John’s Gospel, I would like to talk a little bit more about the eyes of John the Evangelist which gaze on Jesus’ event. When we read John’s Gospel, in my opinion, it is beneficial to look at not only its historical facts and concrete contents but also at “something” hidden in its words to understand the whole Bible including the Synoptic Gospels. It is because I often find hidden treasures in his Gospel. Therefore, this belief necessarily leads me to deep-reading of the Bible. In the previous essay, I wrote, “The eyes of John the Evangelist are on the words of Jesus, which are directed towards the Eucharist throughout all Gospels.” So, I would like to focus on the scene of the last supper in John’s Gospel so that we can dig into this idea. John the Evangelist gives a fifth of his whole Gospel to this scene and puts various devices into it. He begins this sce

2.   People Whom the Father in Heaven Drew to Jesus on the Cross I would like to continue discussing the people who were standing by the cross of Jesus. Only John’s Gospel writes this scene (cf. John 19:25-26). They were those drawn by the Father in heaven as Jesus said, “ No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. ” (John 6:44) These words were addressed by Jesus to the crowd who came to Jesus looking for him the next day he had fed the five thousand with loaves. The main theme of Jesus’ talk in Chapter 6 of John’s Gospel is about having eternal life. Jesus tells he is the very bread of life during the dialogue with the crowd. The bread of life, which is Jesus himself, namely, the Eucharist, is indeed eternal life. In this scene Jesus tells the following words using a clear expression, “ has eternal life,” and showing concrete conditions for it, which appear only in John’s Gospel among the four Gospels: “ Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat t

1. The Voice of the People Who Pass Down the Story of the Past One day I had a good opportunity to share topics concerning theology with some nuns. From the conversation, a small spring of water welled up and became a stream, and soon the stream became a small river and entered the mainstream, the stream which runs to the estuary. “Then he brought me back to the door of the temple; and behold, water was issuing from below the threshold of the temple toward the east (for the temple faced east); and the water was flowing down from below the south end of the threshold of the temple, south of the altar. Then he brought me out by way of the north gate, and led me round on the outside to the outer gate, that faces toward the east; and the water was coming out on the south side. Going on eastward with a line in his hand, the man measured a thousand cubits, and then led me through the water; and it was ankle-deep. Again he measured a thousand, and led me through the water; and