Week One (Sacraments) - Sunday

Sacraments

What is a sacrament? The term sacrament was originally used in the Roman world in at least two ways.  First it was used to describe money deposited by opposing parties in a lawsuit.  The party that lost the lawsuit forfeited their share of the money to be used for some sacred purpose.  The second way was as a type of oath pledged by those about to engage in warfare.  One early church father, Tertullian, capitalized on this definition as he referred to Christian conversion as a sacrament.  Tertullian made this conclusion as he saw each new convert as entering into a spiritual warfare.

It was another early church father, Jerome, who acted as the catalyst for our contemporary understanding of sacrament though.  Jerome was commissioned by the pope in 382 to translate the Hebrew and Greek scriptures into Latin, which was the common language of the people.  His translation became know as the Vulgate – Vulgate derived from the Latin word vulgata, which means “common.”  In the process of translating, Jerome translated the Greek word, mysterion as the Latin word sacramentum.  This implies that sacrament are mysteries, in which we still refer to sacraments as Holy mysteries.  We refer to them as mysteries because there is something supernatural about them, beyond our understanding.  What we do know though is that they are sign-acts, part symbols and part actions, that convey God’s grace, God’s unmerited love.  As Saint Augustine put it, they are “outward and visible signs of an inward and spiritual grace.” Through these simple acts and symbols, God, calling you by name, tells you once again, “I love you.  I love you for who you are, my child.  I love you in spite of you turning from me.”

The Roman Catholic Church recognizes seven rituals as being sacraments: Baptism, Communion, Confirmation, Marriage, Ordination, Confession, and Unction (commonly referred to as Last Rites).  Most Protestant churches recognize only Baptism and Communion as sacraments though.  This is because Jesus participated in these two and then he specifically commanded his disciples to do likewise.  In Article XVI of our Articles of Religion, John Wesley upheld these two as being true sacraments while relegating them as having “partly out grown out of the corrupt following of the apostles, and partly are states of life allowed in the Scriptures, but yet have not the like nature of Baptism and the Lord’s Supper, because they have not any visible sign or ceremony ordained of God.”  So, in essence, while these other rituals may have religious significance and may help further one’s spiritual growth, they are not considered as sacraments in The United Methodist Church nor in most other Protestant churches.

The sacraments point to something that is far greater, the real presence of God’s grace.  They make God’s love visible.  In the receiving of the sacraments, we receive God’s gifts of forgiveness and reconciliation and the confidence that we are participating in a Holy mystery.  Again, we use the word mystery because we are clearer on the effects of the sacraments than we are on the definition.  But we believe that they comprise both the vertical plane, representing our relationship with God, and the horizontal, representing our relationship with each other.  Thus, the sacraments are public acts and not private.  They should always, as far as it is possible, include the whole community of faith.

In the sacraments, we encounter the Most High God.  In them we remember who we are and whose we are.  In the sacraments we are reminded that we are not alone in our faith journey, but we are in the eternal presence of God and the saints of past and the pilgrims of the present.

Baptism

It may surprise you to know that baptism is not strictly a Christian ritual.  It has its roots deeply implanted in and ancient Jewish ritual that uses water as a cleansing agent and a sign of renewal.  But in the Jewish ritual, it was a means of purifying and renewing oneself by ones own accord.  The person did it, not God.  In our contemporary understanding of baptism though, it is God that is doing the work of cleansing and bestowing grace, not us.

Our first introduction into the concept of baptism comes in all four of the gospels with John baptizing person in the Jordan River.  This act was a call for repentance and forgiveness.  But while John was giving this call, a strange thing happened; Jesus came to be baptized as well.  It is strange because we understand Jesus to be God in human form, thereby free from any sin and in no need for repentance and forgiveness.  So why would Jesus seek baptism?  For him, baptism took on a new meaning; it was God revealing God’s self in Jesus.  It was his way of sharing in bearing the burden of sin.  Jesus would become the paschal or sacrificial lamb on behalf of all people.   It was also to mark the beginning of his ministry on earth. 

We believe that baptism is a symbol of God’s prevenient grace, that love that has always enveloped us and nurtured us to a closer and more personal relationship with God.   It is not though, a symbol of our faith.  Nor is it is not related to our human response to that grace.  Rather, it is the out-pouring of love by God’s own initiative.

Water is used as the physical sign of God’s action of conveying grace.  In The United Methodist Church, we have the option of baptism by one of three modes: immersion, pouring, and sprinkling.  Each of these is powerfully symbolic.  Immersion symbolizes the dying to the old life and being raised from the dead with Christ into a new life.  Pouring represents the pouring out of the Holy Spirit.  Sprinkling is symbolic of the cleansing effect of water. 

To the dismay of many, baptism is not nor should not be equated with being “saved.”  Salvation is not hinged on one being baptized.  What baptism does is it celebrates the love of God and conveys new life.  But to be perfectly honest, this “new life” aspect is one that is highly debated at the present.  But in her book, By Water and the Spirit, Gayle Felton clarifies how baptism does convey new life:

Baptism is the sacramental sign of new life through and in Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit.  Variously identified as regeneration, new birth, and being born again, this work of grace makes us into new spiritual creatures (2 Corinthians 5:17).  We die to our old nature, which was dominated by sin, and enter into the very life of Christ who transforms us. Baptism is the means of entry into new life in Christ (John 3:5; Titus 3:5), but new birth may not always coincide with the moment of administration of water or the laying on of hands.  Our awareness and acceptance of our redemption by Christ and new life in him may vary throughout our lives.  But, in whatever way the reality of new birth is experienced, it carries the promises God made to us in our baptism.

Baptism is seen as the initiation into the family of God.  Newly elected Bishop, Scott Jones beautifully illustrates baptism as the marking of the person with a seal as “God’s own,” and “implants the first installment of his or her inheritance as a son or daughter of God.”  This concept of being brought into the family of God is also important in our understanding of one baptism and backsliding.

We, as United Methodists, hold firm to the belief in one baptism.  We base this belief on scripture.  Ephesians 4:4-6 states, “There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to the one hope of your calling, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is above all and through all and in all.”  We also derive our understanding of one baptism by reason.  As we understand baptism as a sacrament, solely initiated by God, for us to re-baptize is say that the first time God marked one as God’s own, either did not happen or did not last.  Some will say that it is possible to fall from grace or lose one’s salvation.  We believe those who backslide become “lost” members of the family; but they are still members.  We eagerly pray for, encourage, and await their return.  Upon their recognition that they have fallen away from God and then change their lives to reorient themselves toward God, we do not re-baptize them, but reaffirm them in the family, reminding them who they are and whose they are.

Finally, baptism does not make one a Christian.  One of Wesley’s principles of ministry was to bring in and evangelize those who were already baptized.  As we saw explained earlier, it is the first installment of the inheritance as a child of God.  So, baptism can be seen as a starting point in the Christian journey. 

Since we understand baptism as the receiving the first installment, one may receive it at any point in life, even as an infant.  Infant baptism is based on scripture and tradition as well.  Acts 16:25-34 recounts how Paul and Silas baptized their jailer’s entire household, which would have included the children.  The early church had accepted the practice of infant baptism without question.  It is a starting point for the child.  As it is a communal event, we Christians, vow to teach that child what the event symbolizes.  It symbolizes God’s prevenient grace and the coming of the Holy Spirit as a convicting presence in the child’s life.  Infant baptism is also accepted through reason. Again since it is totally an initiative on God’s part and does not require any response on the one being baptized, it is a right and good thing to baptize infants.  As some will question how we can baptize one who does not understand what is happening at that moment, I ask, do any of us have a much better understanding of this Holy Mystery? 

Holy Communion

Holy communion is the second sacrament that we United Methodists observe.  Though most recognize what we are referring to when we say communion or Holy Communion, it is also known as The Lord’s Supper and the Eucharist, which means “Great Thanksgiving.”  Whereas we only believe in one baptism, though we renew our baptismal vows at every baptism, we are encouraged to celebrate in the Eucharist often.  John Wesley believed in partaking of communion daily! 

It would be best to understand what the Eucharist is before going any further.  Essentially, it is a family meal.  It recalls the last supper that Jesus ate with his disciples before he was crucified.  It also recalls the words that he spoke to them before given them the bread and the wine saying, “Eat this” and “Drink this” “In remembrance of me.”  How amazing is it that Jesus used something so common, so ordinary as the family meal to help people remember him?!  The bread and wine, known as the elements, aren’t magical in themselves, but they are symbols used in conjunction with eating and drinking to remind us of what God did for us!  There can be no question that this Holy mystery tells us of the grace of Jesus!  In this simple meal, there is the real presence of Jesus the Christ.

I purposefully, but carefully, used the terms, “magical,” “symbol,” and “real presence” above and for that reason I need to clarify how so.  Though communion is steeped in symbolism, it is not a memorial meal, for that means there is nothing supernatural or special about it.  It would just be a mnemonic device.  But, at the same time, the bread and wine (or juice) remain just that; they do not become the literal body and blood of Christ.  This is known as transubstantiation, which is adhered to by the Roman Catholics.  Instead, we United Methodist believe that through these ordinary things such as bread and wine, God does something extraordinary – Jesus is present and is telling us once again of God’s unwavering love.

There is as many preferred ways to take communion as there are people.   While most have forever ingrained in their minds the image of sitting along one side of a long table as depicted in DaVinci’s famous painting of the Last Supper, historical evidence of the customs from that time period suggest that Jesus and his disciple were probably reclined and propping themselves up on one elbow.  This further solidifies that this meal was a very intimate moment in this band of friends. 

Since we still consider communion as a family meal, we believe that there is no one correct way that it is performed.  Think about your own family meals that you have.  There are times that you come together in great celebration.  Other times you come together in great sorrow.  There are times that you eat off of formal dinnerware and times you eat off of paper plates.  The important thing is that you sit and eat together.  The same is true with the Lord’s Supper.  At the Lord’s table (not ours!) we all come together on equal ground.   No one is better than another; no one is worse than another.  We all have been invited by the same Lord.  Jesus extends his invitation to all and we have no right to exclude anyone, not a single soul.  It is here that God’s grace is conveyed through family.  What a beautiful expression of love – through the gathering of all your brothers and sisters in Christ.  Furthermore, when we partake of this sacrament, we gather together in anticipation of when the church will no longer be divided, but be the one, true, holy, universal, and apostolic church.


JOURNAL QUESTIONS

1. Reflect on your sermon notes and journal reading from today.



GROUP EXERCISE

10 minutes - Community Building (informal time of gathering)
10 minutes - Sharing of Concerns and Praises
  5 minutes - Prayer for One Another
30 minutes - Discussion of Topic
                     - What journal entry would you like to share?
                     - Share your baptism experience. If you were baptized as a baby, do you feel "cheated"?
                     - How do you feel about Communion and the way and frequency that it is celebrated?
  5 minutes - Wrap Up/Closing Prayer