The Sacraments: Baptism, Eucharist, and Other RitesBy Rev. Rebecca In liturgical communities, celebrating the Sacraments are the primary acts of worship. Sacraments are outward, physical signs of inward, spiritual realities and graces. Our Lord Jesus Christ instituted two Sacraments: the Lord’s Supper and Baptism. We uphold traditional views on both of these Sacraments. A. Baptism The account of Jesus’ baptism given to us in the Scriptures is one of the most significant moments in the New Testament. We read when Jesus was baptized, “the heaven opened up, and the Holy Spirit descended upon Him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice from heaven said, ‘You are my Son, the Beloved, with you I am well pleased’” (Luke 3:22). Baptism is the rite of initiation into the Christian faith. In baptism, we die with Christ (Ro. 6:4), are cleansed from our sins (Acts 22:16), are clothed with Christ (Gal. 3:27), are brought into the life of the Trinity (Matt. 28:18), and receive the Holy Spirit (1 Cor. 12:13). Baptism is of huge significance and import for all believers. John the Baptist said that Jesus would come, “baptizing with the Holy Spirit.” In Jesus’ discussion with Nicodemus Jesus says, “Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God without being born of water (baptism) and Spirit” (John 3:5). At Jesus’ ascension into heaven his final command is “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.” Baptism is an essential act of obedience for every Christian. In baptism we receive innumerable graces through God’s Holy Spirit. Baptism is also an important sign of God's pre-existant love and adoption for the one being baptized. B. The Holy Eucharist (Communion or the Lord’s Supper) Eucharist comes from the Greek word, “eucharistia” which means “thanksgiving.” The Eucharist is “The Great Thanksgiving” in which we meet God in the ordinary substances of bread and wine. On the night before Jesus died he took a loaf of bread, and after blessing it he broke it, gave it to his disciples, and said, “Take, eat; this is my body broken for you.” He then took the cup of wine and after giving thanks, gave it to them saying, “Drink from it, all of you; for this is my blood of the new covenant poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins” (Matt. 26:26-28). Please notice Jesus’ exact words. He did not say, “This ‘symbolizes’ or ‘represents’ my body and my blood,” he said “This IS my body and blood.” Jesus chose his words carefully at this significant moment and we should take him at his word. We may not know exactly what this means, we may not even be meant to know exactly what this means, but we can and ought to trust Jesus and his words. It is a common pitfall to re-arrange Jesus’ words in order to de-mystify Communion and claim it is merely symbolic. We can affirm that his words baffle us to a degree; it is appropriate to recognize Communion as a mystery. But somehow, in some way, the elements of bread and wine really do become the body and blood of our Lord Jesus in the Eucharist. When we partake of the Eucharist, we share in the life of Jesus Christ and become partners with him in his life and death. Listen again to Jesus’ words in John 6: “Very truly I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man an drink his blood, you have no life in you. Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood have eternal life, and I will raise them up on the last day; for my flesh is true food and my blood is true drink. Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood abide in me, and I in them…When many of his disciples heard it, they said, ‘This teaching is difficult; who can accept it”? In one sense, to eat and drink of Jesus’ body and blood is to believe and abide in Him. Yet this passage also foreshadows the Eucharistic Feast in which we come to the Lord’s table and, as his followers, eat and drink his body in blood. It was hard for folks to accept this then and it is hard for us today! When we partake of the bread and wine of Communion, we are actively demonstrating our faith and union with Jesus Christ. In turn, Jesus shares Himself with us. We also receive grace and gain a foretaste of the heavenly banquet to come. St. Paul had an extremely high view of the Eucharist and sees it as a literal sharing in Christ’s body and blood. He writes to the Corinthians, “The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a sharing in the blood of Christ? The bread that we break, is it not a sharing in the body of Christ? (These are rhetorical questions and our answer ought to be a resounding, “Yes”! See 1 Cor. 10:16) St. Paul believed that the Eucharistic elements had the power of life and death. We ought to heed his words with great caution. He writes, “Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be answerable for the body and blood of the Lord. Examine yourselves, and only then eat the bread and drink the cup. For all who eat and drink without discerning the body, eat and drink judgment against themselves. For this reason many of you are weak and ill, and some have died” (1 Cor. 11:27-30). Clearly there is more going on in Communion in Paul’s view than a mere symbolic act of remembrance. People were actually dying when they partook of this meal in an unworthy manner. Where did we get the idea that Communion is merely symbolic? This is a fairly new idea in the history of the Church. It was not until the 1500’s that this idea crept in. The reason it became popular during the time of the Reformation was in reaction to the abuses taking place surrounding the Eucharist at that time. Many superstitious beliefs began to surface during the Middle Ages about Communion and lay people stopped receiving the bread and wine almost completely due to the idea that they were unworthy. However, to alter our beliefs about the Eucharist because of these abuses is another case of throwing out the baby with the bathwater. In order to correct it, it was done away with to avoid the same mistakes from occurring in the future. The proper response, however, is to correct the abuses and educate ourselves and others as to the appropriate meaning of the Eucharist and continue to receive it in a worthy manner! Liturgical communities believe that the Eucharist is the climax of worship and not the sermon. The climax of worship is when we actively respond to Christ’s call once again to share in his life and death as his followers and find amazing grace when we meet Jesus in the bread and wine at the Lord’s Table. Hallelujah! Other Sacramental Rites- Other rites that have evolved in the Church under the guidance of the Holy Spirit include:
Of course, God is not limited to these rites alone, there are innumerable ways that God reaches out and touches us! |