2009-10-10
Explanation
This comic shows three children comparing what they received, as if after trick-or-treating or some similar activity. One child happily announces "I got brisket!" Another says "Mmm! I got sirloin!" while a third complains "Blech. Liver again." The caption below reads: "After church, we would suck on the eucharist until it turned into Jesus."
The joke plays on the Catholic doctrine of transubstantiation, which holds that during the Eucharist (communion), the bread and wine literally become the body and blood of Jesus Christ. The comic takes this doctrine to an absurd literal extreme -- if the communion wafer truly becomes Jesus's body, then different parts of the wafer might correspond to different cuts of meat, just like a cow. The children are treating communion like a meat lottery, excited about premium cuts like brisket and sirloin while disappointed about getting less desirable portions like liver.
The additional layer of humor comes from the caption's suggestion that the transformation is not instant but gradual -- the children "suck on the eucharist until it turned into Jesus," as if it is like a Gobstopper candy that slowly changes flavors, and at some point you cross the threshold from bread to beef.
The votey shows Jesus himself looking at a communion wafer and saying "This weirds me out every time," adding a final comedic perspective -- even Jesus finds the concept of transubstantiation unsettling when he has to witness people essentially eating him.