The Supper of the Lord, Part 3
¶Amonge the holy euangelistis, wrytinge the story of Cristis souper: Iohā, because the other thre had wryten it at large,…at. 26. dyd but make a mencion therof in hys 13. cap. Matthe… …ath. 14.Marke and Luke declaryng it clerely,…uck. 22. orderly and with iuste nowmber of wordis. with whom Paule agreeth, thus wryting vntounto the Corynthis.Co. 11… Our lorde Iesus, the same nyght he was betrayed: he toke the brede, and after he had geuen thank…s: he brake it, saynge: Take ye it, eat it. This is my boodye, whiche is for you broken. Here is nowe to be noted the ordyr of this accion or acte. Firste Criste …oke the brede in his handis, secondarylye he gaue thankis, thirdelye he brake it:The o…der of t… accio…. fo…ertly he raught it them sayng, take it, fyftely he had them eate it. At laste after all this he sayd. This is my bodye whiche is for you brokē, this thinge do ye into the rememberāce of me. Her ye se, that this breade was firste brokē deliuered them, and they were commaunded to eate it to: ere Criste sayde This is my bo…dye. And for because it is to suppose verely, that they toke it at his hande as he bad them, and dyd eat it to, when they had it in their handis, their master (whose wordis they did euer obaye) commandinge them. It muste nedis folow (yf these be the wordes of the consecracion) that …hey were houseled with vncōsecrated brede, or els now eaten, or at l…ste wyse parte of it, ere Cryste consecrated it, ye it foloweth that it was oute of Cristis handis and in theyr mouthes when Criste consecrated it, and so to hauehave cō secrated it when it was now in hys disciples handis or in their mouthes or rather in theyr belyes.
Here it is manifest that Cryste consecrated no breade, but delyuered it to his disciples, & ba… them ete it. In somyche that S. Thomas they… owne doctour, that made their transsubstanciacion confesseth that some there were, that sayd that Criste did firste consecrate with w… other wordis, ere he nowe reching the breade to his disciples sayd. This is my bodye. &c. and yet calleth he it no heresye so to saye. Nowe sithe in all this acte and souper, ther be no wordis of consecracion, but of the delyuering of the brede broken after thankis geuyng with a commandement to eat it: brynge vsus your wordis of consecracion? and shew vsus by what wordes God promised you & gaue ye pow… to make hys bodye? Ther is nether commandement, nor yet any wordis lefte in all the scripture to make or to consecrate Christes body, to bringe it into the brede. But therbe the wordis of God lefte in the fyrst cap. of Genesys, wherby he made al the worlde: with which wordis, all be it we yet hauehave them: yet is it denyed vsus to make that thing that he made with them. Now, sith we hauyng his wordis of the creacion, cannot yet make any newe creature of nothyng: how then shall we with out any wordis of consecracion and makinge, make y• maker of all thyngis?
¶Unto thys accion or souper or delyuerance of the brede, he added a reason and significacion of thys signe or sacrement, and what also is the vse therof:…he vse …f ye souꝑ as thoughe any shulde aske them theraftir: what sacrement, religion, or ryte is this? They shulde answer euen in a lyke maner of spech as it was commanded their fathers to make answere to theyr chyldren at the eatyng of the olde passouer wherof this new passouer was the veryte, and that the figure sayng. When your chyldern aske ye what religion is thys? ye shal answer them. It is the sacrifyce of the passyngby of the lorde &c. Lo here the lambe that signifyed, and did put them in rememberance of that passyngby in Egyp…e …he Israelitis spared, and the egyptians smyten, was called in lyke phrase the selfe thynge that it represented, signifyed and did put them in remembrance of: No notherwyse then if Chrystes disciples, or any man els, seyng in that souper, the brede taken, thankys geuen, the brede broken distributed & eaten: shulde hauehave asked hym. what sacremēt or religion is thys? He had to answer thē yt Christe sayd. This is my bodye whych is for you brokē. This thing do ye into the remembrance of me, that is to saye, so ofte as ye celebrate thys souper, geue thankis to me for your redempcion. In whych answere he callethe the vtwarde sensible signe or sacrement, that is the brede wyth all y• other accion, euen the same thinge that it sygnifyeth, representeth, and putteth syche eaters of the lordis souper in remembrance of.
For when he sayd, whyche is broken for you, eueryevery one of them sawe that thē it was not his body that was ther broken: but the brede: for as yet he had not suffered, but the brede broken was diuided into pesis eueryevery one of the twelue takyng & eatinge a peace before he sayde… …hys is my bodye &c.
¶Nowe sith M. More wil steke so faste in hys literall sense vponupon these wordis. This is my bodye &c. Then do I aske him, what thynge he shewethe vsus by this first worde and pronowme demonstratyue Hoc, in englysshe (this)? If he shewe vsus the brede:Mo…terall …ce is … so is the brede Christis bodye, and Christis body the brede, whiche sayng in the literall sense is an hyghe heresye aftir them. And for thys sayng thei …u…ned Lorde Cobham. Also I aske whither Cryste speking these wordis This is my bodye &c. had then the brede in his handis wherwith he houseled his disciples or no? That he had it not, but had now delyuered it them: and had commaunded them to ete it to, the ordyr and wordis or the texte playnly proue it, as is declared before. And S. Marke…ar. 14. relleth the story also in this ordyr. The Cuppe taken in his handis, aftyr he had geuen thankis, he gaue it them, and thei all dranke therof. And he sayd to them. This is my bloode of the new testament: whiche is shed for many. Here is it manifest that thei had all dronken therof first ere he said the wordis of consecracion (if they be the wordis of any consecracion.) Besydis this yet: if ye be so sworne to the litterall sense in this mater, that ye wyl not in these wordes of Cryste. This is my body &c. admitte in so playne a speche no troope (for Allegorye ther is none, if ye knew the proper difference of them both, whiche eueryevery gramma…ion can teche you (then do I laye before your olde eyen and spectacles to, Crystes wordis spoken of the Cuppe bothe, in Luke cap. 2…2. and Paule. 1. Ca 11. sayng. This Cuppe is the newe testament thorow my bloode which is shed for you. Here Cryste calleth the wyne in the cuppe the selfe cuppe which eueryevery man knoweth is not the wyne. Also he calleth the cuppe the newe testamēt… and yet was not the cuppe, nor yet the wyne contayned theryn the newe testament, and yet he calleth it the newe testament cōteigned and cōfirmed with his blood, here ye se he called not the cuppe his blode but the testament. Where is now your litterall sense that ye wolde so fayne frame for your papisti… plesure? If ye wyll so sore steke to the letter: why do youre faccion leue here the playne letter: sayng that the letter slayeth: goinge aboute the busshe wyth thys exposicion and circumlocucion, expownyng T…ys is my bodye. that is to saye, This is conuerted and turned into my bodye, and thys brede is transsubstancy … …ed into my bodye? How farre lo, M. More is thys your strange thomisticall sence …rome the statte letter? If ye be so addi…e to the letter: why traye ye the comon peple frome the letterall sence wyth thy… …ugge, tellyng them the letter slayeth? but ther is nether, …tter nor spirit that maye brydle and holde your styfe necked headis.
¶Also ye shall vnderstande that Christe rebuked the iwes. Io. 6. for the…r litteral sence and carnal vnderstandyng of hys spiritual wordis Sayng My flesshe profiteth you nothynge at all to eate it. &c. And their litterall takyng of hys spirituall wordis was the cause of theyr murmure. &c. For euen there, as also lyke in other placis. To ete Crystis flesshe. &c. aftyr the comon phrayse of the scripture, is not els, then to beleue that Cryste suffred dethe, and shede hys blode for vsus. Rede ye. 1. Cor…n. 10.To …e …rstis fless… is to beleue in hym. that our fathers all dyd ete the same spyritual meate and dranke the same spirytuall drynke that we nowe ete and drynke? Here I thinke M. More muste leue hys litteral … and materiall meat, or els denye Paule, and denye to that our fathers did ete Cryst and dranke hys blode, whyche all here Paule saythe, for to eate and to drynke thys spyrituall meat and drī ke, was as himselfe declarethe to eate and drinke Christe. Thei dranke of the stone (saith Paule) that went with them. whiche stone was Christe. And we ete and drinke the very same stone. whiche is not els, then to beleue in Christe. Thei beleued in Christ to come and we beleue in hym comen and hauehave suf…red, where is now thinke ye M. Moris litterall sence for the …ing of Christis materiall bodye? Our fathers were one, and the same chyrche with vsus, vnderunder the same testament and promyse, & euē of the same faithe in Christe, And euen as they eate hym and dranke his bloode euen the same spirituall meat and drynke that we do ete and drinke: so do we now in the same faithe. for what els was signifyed by thys maner of speche our fathers did eate and drinke Chryste, then that they beleued in Christe to be incarnated & to suffer dethe? what els ment the pore woman of Chanane by eatynge, then to beleue? when she answerde Christe, saynge.Mat. 15. ye saye sothe my lorde. But yet …o the lytell whelpis ete of the crummes that fall frome theyr maisters table? This did she answer in an allegory accordyng to Christis first answer vntounto her, she meaning by the etinge of the crummes, the beliefe of his wordis and gospel to be s…atred amōg the gen…yls as Christe answering, comfirmed hir meaning saing: O woman grete is thy faithe. He sayd not, thou arte a grete eater and deouwere… of brede. Here is it playne that to ete in escr… p…ure is taken to beleue: as Chy…te himself expowneth it Io. 6. so ofte, and so plentuously: and I am here compelled to inculke and iterat it whi…h so many wordis, to satisfye if it were possible this carnall flessh vowerer and flesshely iwe.