The Estuary of Theology 16

The Most Holy Eucharist (2)

God added the second plan of salvation to his plan for the sake of Cain, who had committed the crime of murder for the first time, and Abel, who, by it, had become the first man to die, as well as many people who were to have the same fates as these two persons (cf. The Estuary of Theology issue 15). Cain, for God, was the firstborn who was to be the fulfilment of the word: “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the air and over every living thing that moves upon the earth” (Genesis 1:28). He, who had committed a murder, which God had called sin for the first time, against God’s will, “Be fruitful and multiply,” could say, “My punishment is greater than I can bear,” thanks to the “enmity” which God had put (cf. Genesis 3:15). God forgave him for this word. Then God himself assumed Cain’s sin and the punishment to be received, which Cain himself had declared, in the way as follows (cf. The Estuary of Theology issue14).

Cain said, “Behold, thou hast driven me this day away from the ground; and from thy face I shall be hidden; and I shall be a fugitive and a wanderer on the earth, and whoever finds me will slay me” (Genesis 4:14). Jesus, the only Son of God, took over this word by coming down from the place of the heavenly Father and becoming the one about whom he himself had said, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man has nowhere to lay his head” (Matthew 8:20), and by being found eventually and killed on the cross. Then, God saved the free individualities of those who had died till then by dying freely (cf. John 10:17-18) and descending into hell. Therefore, the episode of the empty tomb follows his death on the cross.

We can suppose from some few descriptions in the Gospel that just as the chief priests and the Pharisees worried that Jesus’ body might be stolen from the tomb (cf. Matthew 27:62-66), also the disciples worried that Lord’s body might be taken away from the tomb rather than of his resurrection ( cf. Matthew 27:61, John 20:1-2). Then, also John the Evangelist wrote at the end of the scene of the empty tomb: “for as yet they did not know the scripture, that he must rise from the dead” (John 20:9). However, preceding this, he also wrote: “Then the other disciple, who reached the tomb first, also went in, and he saw and believed” (John 20:8). What was the Evangelist’s intention of having written this?

John, who had often been present in Jesus’ special scenes being chosen by him together with Peter and James (cf. Matthew 17:1, 26:37, Mark 5:37, 9:2, 14:33, Luke 8:51, 9:28), went into the tomb and saw the napkin, which had been on Jesus’ head, not lying with the linen cloths but rolled up in a place by itself (cf. John 20:7). And he noticed something. It must have been the scene of the last supper of Jesus, that is, the word of Jesus: “This is my body which is given for you” (Luke 22:19). It was the word that had been vividly stamped on his memory just because he had not understood it at that time. He saw that the word was fulfilled just now. The napkin and the linen cloths left in the tomb were its evidence. He, here, “saw and believed” it. For this reason, John the Evangelist did not write the scene of the institution of the Eucharist, which the three Synoptic Gospels had already written. He, rather than it, wrote powerfully the scene of Jesus talking about the bread of life to the multitude after the multiplication of bread. Inside John, who stood inside the empty tomb, Jesus’ word of instituting the Eucharist and the word he talked to the multitude about the bread of life were combined into one.

God’s plan began with everything on earth and in heaven being created and coming to existence by the word of God, “Exist!” (cf. Genesis 1:1-31). Death, for every living thing, means that the word of God, “Exist!” after fulfilling its mission, gets out of the body created by God and the memory of senses suitably equipped for the living thing, returns to God and becomes God’s recognition (cf. The Estuary of Theology issue 4). The word, “Exist!” which has made living things live, returns to God through their death. The word of God accomplishes what God desires and achieves the purpose for which he sent it (cf. Isaiah 55:10-11). However, the death of a human, who has the free individuality, is not the same as that of other living things. The cases, like Abel, in which someone is suddenly killed and dies without having recognition of being died, and his free individuality is abruptly thrown out from his body together with the word of God, “Exist!” happen. As God said to Cain, “What have you done? The voice of your brother's blood is crying to me from the ground” (Genesis 4:10), Abel’s free individuality raised its voice for God.

Jesus, who said, “This is my body which is given for you” (Luke 22:19), through his death, went to the free individualities which had remained in this world and had been waiting until the time of Jesus’ appearance, drew all of them to him and took them into the Lord’s “sheepfold” (cf. John 10:1). For this reason, he instituted the Eucharist on “the night when he was betrayed” so that the Holy Spirit, as the spirit of Jesus, continues this work of salvation also in his future after his Resurrection and Ascension. It was indispensable for the salvation of all people that God is present on the earth as the Holy Eucharist and continuously dies with the cooperation of Christians and that he continues his work of salvation. The Holy Eucharist, when a Christian eats it, dies in him/her. Then God’s presence gets out of it, and he gains the opportunity to take these free individualities to the “sheepfold” of the Lord. In this way, Jesus entrusted the continuation of the second plan of God’s salvation to the Holy Spirit, who was sent in the name of Jesus, and the Christians.

The individuality of the Holy Spirit is combined with the knowledge of God, the Word of Jesus remaining on the earth, and makes Jesus’ spirit appear. Like this, a spirit is a combination of individuality and knowledge. An evil spirit is a spirit too and is not Satan (a devil). I suppose when a man dies while he is in a state of becoming Satan (a devil) (cf. The Estuary of Theology issue12), and his free individuality misses the chance of separating from the information of the serpent (the accidental information), it becomes an evil spirit.

The word of the serpent, “You will not die” (Genesis 3:4), given in the dialogue between the woman and the serpent, was the information of the serpent (the accidental information) which emerged in her five-sense data (cf. TheEstuary of Theology issue 14). This word was proved because she did not die after she had eaten the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, and it has become her strong recognition. Later this word has become of all people through this first created woman (cf. The Estuary of Theologyissue 14). When a person, who has become Satan (a devil), dies as he was and his free individuality is clinging to his knowledge of good and evil, which has the recognition of “You will not die,” even though his knowledge of good and evil is dead together with his body, this strong recognition is stuck to his free individuality as the information of the serpent (the accidental information), and it may make him an evil spirit.

The free individuality in this state, even though it has died and has lost its knowledge of good and evil and its memory of five-sense data as well as its body, remains on the earth with the information of the serpent (the accidental information), “You will not die.” This free individuality has no chance to enter the Lord’s “sheepfold.” Therefore, it tries to possess a living person and to get the recognition of death by dying with him/her (cf. Mark 5:3-5, Luke 8:29). However, even if it successfully possessed the person, it would not be able to die because he/she has his own free individuality. Both he/she and the evil spirit suffer, and the free individuality which became an evil spirit, if it is driven away from him/her, crawls on the earth with the information of the serpent (the accidental information) again, and it experiences the foretaste of death of this information, namely the death called the second death (cf. Revelation 2:11, 20:6, 20:14, 21:8), and what is more, it keeps holding the contradiction in which the free individuality, eternal life itself blown into by God, desires death. For this free individuality, the “enmity,” which God put in human knowledge of good and evil to solve contradictions, is already lost with the death of the knowledge of good and evil (cf. The Estuary of Theology issue 14).

The parable of the rich man who was enjoying luxurious life being clothed in purple and fine linen every day and Lazarus, a poor man with full of sores laying at his gate, shows this fact clearly (cf. Luke 16:19-31). The two died, and Lazarus was carried by the angels to Abraham’s bosom (The Lord’s “sheepfold”) while the rich man was in torment in Hades. Abraham explained the reason of this situation saying, “Son, remember that you in your lifetime received your good things, and Laz'arus in like manner evil things; but now he is comforted here, and you are in anguish.” However, the free individuality of the rich man, who, even though he is dead too, says, “No, father Abraham; but if some one goes to them from the dead, they will repent,” does not yet recognize his death. The information of the serpent (the accidental information), “You will not die,” is stuck to it. Like this, there are also free individualities who suffer remaining in this world even after their knowledge and memories, as well as their bodies, were lost without recognizing their death because they had been clinging to earthly life too much.

It is only God’s presence that can save human free individualities from this state. People can drive away evil spirits which are possessing another person using the authority Jesus entrusted his disciples. Nevertheless, it is only God who can give death to the evil spirit (cf. Matthew 8:28-32, Mark 5:1-13, Luke 8:26-33). Therefore, the free individualities which became evil spirits were never freed from the information of the serpent (the accidental information), “You will not die,” until they met Jesus.

In the parable which Jesus talked, Abraham says, “[B]etween us and you a great chasm has been fixed, in order that those who would pass from here to you may not be able, and none may cross from there to us” (Luke 16:26). “A great chasm” in his words is so to speak the graveyard of the information of the serpent (the accidental information) which lost the free individuality it had possessed and had become an evil spirit together and completely lost its significance as information. So, the Gospel reads, “[T]hey begged him not to command them to depart into the abyss” (Luke 8:31). However, it was not until "the close of the age" that the information of the serpent (the accidental information) is put in the abyss (chasm).

In another place of the Gospel, it says that the evil spirits cried out, “What have you to do with us, O Son of God? Have you come here to torment us before the time?” (Matthew 8:29). “The time” that the evil spirits said here is “the close of the age.” “The close of the age” is the time when, after the “my Church” (cf. Matthew 16:18) was established through Pentecost, the last supper of Jesus is reproduced as the Mass and the Holy Eucharist appears (cf. The Estuary of Theology　issue 15). So, then Jesus allowed the evil spirits to enter the swine and gave the free individualities which have become the evil spirits the opportunity to die again (cf. Matthew 8:30-32, Mark 5:11-13, Luke 8:32-33). The free individualities of the evil spirits were at last freed from the information of the serpent (the accidental information), “You will not die,” through the second experience of death. This work of God continues through the Mass.

Jesus, using the parable of the weeds, told that this work of God of liberating the free individualities which had become the evil spirits would be continued in the Mass (cf. Matthew 13:24-30). In this parable, he said, “Let both grow together until the harvest; and at harvest time I will tell the reapers, Gather the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my barn” (Matthew 13:30), and compared the free individuality to wheat and the information of the serpent (the accidental information) to weeds. The information of the serpent (the accidental information), “You will not die,” and the free individuality, which have cohabited as an evil spirit, will be separated by the reapers. The information of the serpent (the accidental information), which stuck itself to the free individuality of the dead, will lose its habitation being separated from the free individuality and will be bound in bundles to be burned as it is.

Jesus explains the parable of the weeds being asked by his disciples as follows: “He who sows the good seed is the Son of man; the field is the world, and the good seed means the sons of the kingdom; the weeds are the sons of the evil one, and the enemy who sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the close of the age, and the reapers are angels. Just as the weeds are gathered and burned with fire, so will it be at the close of the age. The Son of man will send his angels, and they will gather out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all evildoers, and throw them into the furnace of fire; there men will weep and gnash their teeth. Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear” (Matthew 13:37-43). “The kingdom” is the space of the Mass where living people gather, and “the close of the age” is the time when the gate of the “sheepfold” of the Lord, the Holy Eucharist, appears. Those who “will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father” are the free individualities who, being liberated from the evil spirit, enter the Lord’s “sheepfold” by the gate. These things appear in the Mass celebrated with the Holy Spirit, and the angels, the reapers, are at the gate.

The Revelation to John sketched the future in which the last supper of Jesus has developed into the Mass (cf. Revelation 21:1-27, The Estuary of Theology issue 15). It reads, “It had a great, high wall, with twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and on the gates the names of the twelve tribes of the sons of Israel were inscribed” (Revelation 21:12), and “And the twelve gates were twelve pearls, each of the gates made of a single pearl” (Revelation 21:21). “The gates” here signify the round and white Holy Eucharist, and the phrase, “the names of the twelve tribes of the sons of Israel were inscribed,” means that these gates are the accomplishment of the history of the covenant since Genesis. The twelve angels are watching people who try to enter the city as it reads, “[T]hey shall bring into it the glory and the honor of the nations. But nothing unclean shall enter it, nor any one who practices abomination or falsehood, but only those who are written in the Lamb's book of life*” (Revelation 21:26-27). The angels, when finding an evil spirit, separate it into “the weed” and “the wheat.” Thus, those who gather in the Mass are not always people on the earth. As Jesus said, “And I have other sheep, that are not of this fold; I must bring them also, and they will heed my voice. So there shall be one flock, one shepherd” (John 10:16), all people, whether living or dead, are invited to the Mass, which is managed by the Holy Spirit.

* The expression, “those who are written in the Lamb's book of life,” coincides Jesus’ words, “[R]ejoice that your names are written in heaven” (Luke 10:20), and “[H]e calls his own sheep by name and leads them out” (John 10.3). I can tell from these expressions that God, who created man, gave all people their names. And God taught Adam, the first created man, to name other living things to have dominion over them, but he also taught him that he would never be able to find the true helper of him among those whom he had named (cf. Genesis 2:18-20). Therefore, the act of Adam, after he had become a man, having named the woman Eve, who had been created by God as his helper, deserved being driven away from the garden of Eden (cf. Genesis 3:20-24, The Estuary of Theology issue 12).

Jesus, when the Pharisees and the scribes murmured, saying, “This man receives sinners and eats with them,” talked the following parable: “What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness, and go after the one which is lost, until he finds it? And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost.’ Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance” (Luke 15:4-7).

If we consider that Jesus even now “receives sinners and eats with them” in the Mass and accept these words of Jesus literally, we will be able to understand them in the way as follows. The “man having a hundred sheep” is God. These sheep are those who are in God’s hands and are not the ones who live on the earth because Jesus says “having.” Moreover, we can say again that they are not the people on the earth because he says that “the ninety-nine” are “righteous persons who need no repentance.” So, Jesus expressed that the man leaves “the ninety-nine in the wilderness.” “The wilderness” signifies the world of the dead. They, who were left “in the wilderness,” are the people are those who are already in the Lord’s “sheepfold”, and “the one which is lost” is the free individuality wandering on the earth after death or the free individuality which has become an evil spirit.

Jesus approached the Apostles and told them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, to the close of the age” (Matthew 28:18-20). “The close of the age” is the time when the Holy Eucharist appears in the Mass celebrated with the Holy Spirit. It spreads universally. It is the mission of every Christian, who is called with the name of Christ, to continue the salvation of Jesus Christ with the Holy Spirit. The Holy Eucharist is the visible realization of the word, “I am with you always, to the close of the age.” This realization of the Word is continued by Christians who produce the Holy Eucharist with the Holy Spirit every day, distribute it, receive it, look at it, touch it, smell it and eat it (cf. The Estuary of Theology issue 15).

It is an urgent issue for all Christians that in order for every Christian to take the Holy Eucharist and eat it every day, each of them compromises each other, makes all his effort to grope for the way to realize the aim. It is because the guarantee for Jesus’ command, “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you” lies in the word, “I am with you always, to the close of the age,” that is, the Holy Eucharist.

To be continued.

Jul. 2020 in Hiroshima

Maria K