THE SACRAMENTS

Exodus 12: 14-28; Mark 14: 12-26

 

 

Thank me if you choose; forgive me if you wish, but a primer in the sacraments is what is called for by our topic today.  According to church doctrine in the Protestant tradition, the sacraments are two- Baptism and Holy Communion, also called the Lord’ Supper or the Eucharist. In the Roman Catholic tradition there are seven. A sacrament (and Confirmation class members should take note of all of this since it will be on your test!) is something Jesus told us to continue to do until he comes again. Instructions for Baptism- which is the entrance into the community of faith- may be found in the Great Commission of Matthew 28: the instruction is to go into all the world baptizing in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit; it is understood it is with water, water set apart from common uses. We know that it is holy only in the fact that it is set apart; it can be Jordan River water or St. John’s River water from a local tap or other water as available. It is an act that says that God put his Holy Spirit in you as Jesus received upon his baptism as an example. It is an act that, like circumcision, says a child is part of God’s covenant, or like Peter’s confession: “You are the Christ,” it is a human act of devotion to Jesus as Savior. It is your day to have been born from above.  When Protestants took their stand describing beliefs different from Roman Catholicism teachings in the 16th century, they still said that those who were baptized twice were heretics, and they drowned convicted offenders by fastening weights to their tied-up bodies, heaving overboard from boats. Dreadful stuff, but they were quite serious about it: there is but one baptism as we will affirm in the Creed today, and being baptized twice offends God, Reformation Christians said.

 

The Sacrament of Holy Communion liturgy can be found in Matthew 26, Mark 14, Luke 22, and 1 Corinthians 11. But as with Baptism, divisions regarding the Sacrament of Holy Communion also run deep today as well; all Christians have tried to faithfully interpret clues in Scripture, we nevertheless have Roman Catholics proclaiming that the bread is Christ’s actual body and the wine is his actual blood; Lutherans believe that Christ is “in and around” the bread; those who are Congregationalists like Baptists believe communion is a mostly a memorial for Jesus, and Presbyterians affirm the real presence of Christ, that is, he is truly present with us Spiritually in the breaking of the bread and sharing of the cup. Are you tired from all of that doctrinal wrestling?  Again, those in the infancy of Protestantism in the 16th century said wrong belief would send them to eternal darkness. Churches began dividing into denominations with well-intended but different concluding results from each reading of Scripture. 

 

Presbyterians have been called “People of the Book.”  We believe in the Authority of the Word in Scripture as the inspired Word of God. But a minister is still ordained to the ministry of the Word and Sacraments. The old stereotype that Sacraments mattered to Catholics and preaching matters to Protestants is neither true nor accurate. Kimberly Bracken Long, one of Jenny’s instructors at Columbia Seminary, wrote “Again and again we see what John Calvin taught us: that the Word is food to us. To the psalmist, God’s word is like honey. Wisdom serves up a feast of bread and wine. Jesus is born in Bethlehem (a word meaning ‘House of Bread;) to give himself as the bread of life. As he teaches, he feeds, multiplying bread like manna in the desert. He cooks up an Easter breakfast on the beach. He reveals himself on the road to Emmaus in the breaking open of the word and in the breaking of bread. He who is the Word is shown forth in words and in meals [Italics mine] It is no wonder, then, that Augustine and then Calvin—to name just two—saw Word and Sacrament not as two separate entities but as two parts of one whole.” [CALL TO WORSHIP, Vol. 40.4, p. v.]

 

Of course, there are also other events that may be considered “sacramental,” times when, through mysterious blessing or a guiding light from above, we receive the grace of God.  Those born again events are pivotal in the lives of followers. There are those who were lost and are found in sacramental moments; there are also those who like deer thirsting for water, find it and drink with generous gladness. Finally, to paraphrase D. T. Niles, there is one beggar telling another where to find bread. Sacramental moments indeed! And the angels of Heaven, off in the distance, sing Holy, Holy, Holy!” or as we will hear with the Latin phrase in our sacrament today, “Sanctus!” Something ordinary gets set apart from common usage to make an extraordinary event holy in the sight of God.  Something is given to us that hits our “restart button;” sacramental moments can bless us with a do over! A voice whispers in our ears or is known in our hearts: “Go with God.” And we leave sacramental moments different from how we entered them.

 

Today is a day of sacrament. Remembering the mighty acts of God in the holy days Jews call Passover, we see that God wants to save us. Remembering the precious gift of God in Christ in the meal we now call the Lord’s Supper, we take the bread of life and the cup of salvation. On this side of Easter, it is the feast of victory for our God! So whatever is your burden, leave it for Jesus, and take his yoke upon you instead.  There is a reminder of blessing at the font, and there is food and drink at the table.  If you have been baptized you have been welcomed; if you partake of this food, you will be fed. What blessings we have from God! Prepare with me, for the sacramental moments that can make you hopeful, or breathless, or encouraged.  Let us sing praise to the God who wants to save us even now!

 

Jeffrey A. Sumner                                                  April 6, 2008