In the first century of the Christian church there was much misunderstanding among the public about what Christians did when they gathered for worship. Jews as well as many of the Pagan Romans accused the Christians of cannibalism. It did not help at all that the early Christians spoke about eating the body of Christ and drinking His blood. While the early Christians understood that the true body and blood of Jesus was hidden under the bread and wine of the Holy Communion, those outside the fellowship of the church were unable to understand so nuanced thinking. As you can easily imagine, this led to both fear of Christians and prejudice against Christians.
Speaking of Holy Communion eating the body of Jesus and drinking his blood was not invented by the early Christians. The idea comes from Jesus himself in the 6th chapter of the gospel of John. It was a new, even revolutionary, idea. That Jesus gave himself for us and we become a part of him and his salvation in receiving Holy Communion is beyond our understanding. Even if we don’t understand fully, Jesus invites us to eat his flesh and drink his blood and be saved.
Thanks be to God.
Pastor Bill