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Sacraments

1st Corinthians 11:23-34

Following the theology of John Wesley, the United Methodist Church observes two sacraments.  They are:  the Sacrament of Baptism and the Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper or Holy Communion.

When John Wesley abridged The Thirty Nine Articles of the Church of England for the use of the American Methodists, he defined a sacrament as “an outward and visible sign of an inward and spiritual grace, given unto us, ordained by Christ himself, as a means whereby we receive the same, and a pledge to assure us thereof.” (Wesley, The Sunday Service of the Methodists in America)

Essentially Wesley, in defining the Sacraments in such a way, was establishing in a post-Protestant reformation church that in order for something to be considered a Sacrament it must: 1) be that which has been established by Christ and 2) it is ordained by God through the Holy Spirit.

Wesley was trying to make certain that Christian people understood that salvation is made possible only through the grace of God and the faith therein.  It is generally held that it is the faith of the participant, itself a gift of God, rather than the power of the sacramental act that produces grace.

Any other sacraments were, in Wesley’s way of understanding, established by man and were considered works and not spiritual “means of grace.”

The word “baptize” (from the Greek) means “to identify” or “to be made one with”. In general, it refers to the act of identifying one thing with another thing in such a way that its nature or character is changed, or it represents the idea that a real change has already taken place.

Wesley in “A Treatise on Baptism, 1756,” said this about baptism : “It is the initiary sacrament which enters us into a covenant with God.”  In stating that baptism is “an initiary sacrament,” Wesley means that baptism is a point of departure in what is intended to be a lifetime commitment to walk with God.  This is one of the reasons why we, in the United Methodist faith hold strongly to our beliefs about the baptizing of infants. 

Baptism initiates a covenant of relationship between God and the baptized person and between the church and the person. When one is baptized or when one re-affirms his or her baptism, the congregation enacts God’s grace toward the one being baptized and welcomes him or her into the body of Christ. 

In the case of an infant or a child who is baptized, he or she is placed upon the preparatory rolls in the church until confirmation or such a time when he or she is ready and able to make the commitment to the membership of the local church.  During that time, his or her parents and the church undertake the vows of the Sacrament on his or her behalf.   The Methodist tradition allows the baptism of all persons, regardless of age, who do confess their belief in “our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ,” who have a “desire to be baptized,” and who promise to “obediently keep God’s will and commandments.”

For Wesley, the sacrament of baptism is more of a symbol of regeneration than of actual rebirth. 

As to the means by which the sacrament is to be administered, the general consensus is that the sacrament is to be administered by water.  It is a rite of purification by water, a ceremony invoking the grace of God to regenerate the person, free him or her from sin, and make that person a part of the church.  Wesley drew no distinction between the method of administrating the sacrament: dipping, sprinkling or washing (immersion). He held that in John’s gospel, the scripture plainly states that in order to be born anew…”you must be born of water and the Spirit.” (John 3:5)  Water, therefore, becomes the means by which the sign-act is made “real.”  Christian tradition holds that the water of baptism is both ‘symbol’ and ‘means’; it symbolizes what happens in baptism, and it is the ‘stuff of earth’ that bears the Spirit.

Water cleanses; water drowns. Water surrounds us in the womb; water is the main ingredient of the human body, and especially for the blood which is necessary for our life.

In baptism, the water and the act of administering the water is the outward and visible sign…Yet, without God’s powerful, creative Spirit, the water is only water… the Holy Spirit is the inward and spiritual grace.  Unless God adds his grace and makes the signs powerful, they are nothing. 

So, when one is baptized, the Spirit acts through that water to cleanse the individual and drown the “old” self, to surround and cushion the new self as faith grows, and to carry Christ’s presence into the new self.

As a baptized Christian, the one baptized, then becomes a part of the universal church and part of a particular community of Christians where he or she is known and are watched over in love.  And, the Body of Christ, too, becomes the acting of the Holy Spirit in the life of the new self.

Will Willimon, a prominent Methodist pastor has said:

“There is no solitary Christian, there is no way of doing the faith by a correspondence course in salvation.  Nor can you do the faith in the cozy comfort of your living room watching an evangelist doing the faith on television.  He who does not know the church’s Lord, and he who does not know the Lord, does not know God.  And, baptism is the door.”

Again, Wesley said that baptism is the initiary sacrament.  The church of Jesus Christ is the place for the people of God. 

Willimon goes on to say:

“To be in the church is to be together in God’s family, that strange clan, begotten by ‘water and the Word.’  Like any family, one cannot join the family of God. One must be adopted.  Joining the church is not simply a matter of joining a voluntary society of religiously inclined people. We do not join the church so much as we are joined into it.  Nobody chooses his or her parents.  The parents beget and choose the child.  The same can be said for the children of the mother church.”

God chose us.  God loves us.  God loves us so much that God gave to us God’s greatest gift, His Son.  And, in baptism, we are made a part of the family of God.

And, so what about the Lord’s Supper?   As Wesley came to understand and define theologically the means of grace and, particularly, the works of piety (Scripture, prayer, fasting, the Lord’s Supper, Christian conference, public worship and avoiding evil), he held the Lord’s Supper as the highest and most important means of grace.  He called the Lord’s Supper “the richest legacy that Christ left to his followers.”  He likens it to the last wish of someone on their deathbed.  He says of the institution of the Lord’s Supper… “Do this in remembrance of me…” that in this the Lord is giving to us the “dying tokens of his love.”

Wesley addressed his theological understanding of the prominence of the Lord’s Supper as a means of grace in a sermon published in 1731 called, “The Duty of Constant Communion.”

Among other things, Wesley cautioned against our simply partaking in the Lord’s Supper as a memorial meal.  Hear what he believes is offered to us in this supper:

In the Lord’s Supper, by the power of the Holy Spirit and through the enabling means of faith, time and space are transcended.  Christ does not only invite men to his sacrifice; he actually offers to make this sacrifice theirs: as he offers himself to God, so he offers himself to man.  (Borgen, John Wesley on the Sacraments, p. 183)

Further he says:

“At the Holy Table the people meet to worship God, and God is present to meet and bless His people.  Here we are in a special Manner invited to offer up to God our Souls, our Bodies, and whatever we can give; And God offers to us the Body and Blood of His Son, and all other Blessings which we have need to receive…So that the Holy Sacrament is a great Mystery, consisting both of Sacrament and Sacrifice; that is, of the Religious Service which the people owe to God, and of the full Salvation which God has promised to His people.” (Borgen, John Wesley on the Sacraments, p. 237)

So, how often is too often?  Specifically, how often should one participate in communion?  In the 1785 Discipline, Wesley recommended that the Christian partake of the Lord’s Supper at every opportunity.

In Wesley’s day, there were many who argued and objected to his call for “constant communion.”  Among the objections that he most frequently heard were such things as:  1) If I partake of communion too often, it will lose it’s meaning; 2) How can I partake of communion if I am not properly prepared to do so?; 3) What if I do not feel worthy to partake of communion?

To these objections Wesley said:

“The case is this: God offers you one of the greatest mercies on this side heaven, and commands you to accept it. Why do not you accept this mercy, in obedience to his command? You say, ‘I am unworthy to receive it.’ And what then? You are unworthy to receive any mercy from God. But is that a reason for refusing all mercy? God offers you a pardon for all your sins. You are unworthy of it, it is sure, and he knows it; but since he is pleased to offer it nevertheless, will not you accept of it? He offers to deliver your soul from death: You are unworthy to live; but will you therefore refuse life? He offers to endue your soul with new strength; because you are unworthy of it, will you deny to take it? What can God himself do for us farther, if we refuse his mercy because we are unworthy of it?

As with all of Wesley’s life, there is a progression of thinking about the Sacraments.  The pre-Aldersgate Wesley invested himself in the ritual of the church and the observance of the Sacraments.  However, the post-Aldersgate Wesley held that Sacraments were an action of God, provided by the Holy Spirit, and, as such were not matters of the intellect but, rather, matters of the heart.

This is what Wesley said on why it is the “duty” of the Christian to receive communion as often as he or she can:

The First reason why it is the duty of every Christian so to do is, because it is a plain command of Christ.

A Second reason why every Christian should do this as often as he can, is, because the benefits of doing it are so great to all that do it in obedience to him; viz., the forgiveness of our past sins and the present strengthening and refreshing of our souls.

“This is the true rule: So often are we to receive as God gives us opportunity. Whoever, therefore, does not receive, but goes from the holy table, when all things are prepared, either does not understand his duty, or does not care for the dying command of his Savior, the forgiveness of his sins, the strengthening of his soul, and the refreshing it with the hope of glory.”

Any objections, Wesley would say, presupposes that the individual actual has something to do with what is given in communion.  This supper is an act and means of grace.  It has nothing to do with what we offer it, rather, it has everything to do with what God offers to us.  Worthy of it? Deserving of it? Prepared for it?  These things are impossible of us, yet, if the communion is received in the power of the Holy Spirit, God grants us grace and mercy in the meal.

It is precisely grace that makes the sacrament so…well, sacramental…

One does not partake of these Sacraments because one is worthy…one receives these Sacraments as an outward and visible sign of an inward and spiritual grace.

Well, you have been kind to me for these past few weeks…you have allowed me to rattle on about John Wesley and theology and Methodism…

Before we leave the subject, I would like to offer a personal word of witness of why I am United Methodist and how I come to this table.

Some would say that denominationalism does not matter…what truly matters is a belief in Jesus Christ.  I offer that denominationalism does matter.  Just as the church of Jesus Christ is dependent upon the followers to belief and be loyal…to take a cross into the world…so, also does a church, a particular expression of the Body of Christ, such as Methodism dependent upon the belief and loyalty of the members…

For me, this denomination, this United Methodist Church, is responsible for the way that I have come to know Jesus Christ and the way that I can express that faith…and, just as a belief in Jesus Christ matters as a cornerstone of the life of the Christian…that belief is as Willimon says, expressed as membership in that strange clan begotten by “water and the Word”…and, for me that membership is lived out as a United Methodist…

Please understand me, I struggle with the church…the United Methodist church and the larger Christian Church with some of the ways that we express ourselves or do not express ourselves in the world. I do not always agree with decisions made in local churches or in the District or in the Conference for that matter. 

Once when I was struggling with a particular issue related to the United Methodist Church, I sought the wisdom of a colleague in ministry, the Rev. Dickie Hoffpauir, then, DS of the Alexandria District.

After listening patiently, the response came, “Well, I don’t know what I would do if I were you…”

Well, that was helpful.

Then, he continued and finished at the same time… “But, I do know this: while there are other denominational polities, there is only one church of Jesus Christ and all denominational polities have their difficulties…but, all I know is that I am first a Christian and second a United Methodist…” and, shortly after that I hung up the phone.  I have continued in my faith journey and to this day I continue to be challenged by the doctrinal beliefs and understanding of the church…and, my place in it…

But, I am exceedingly proud to say that I have a place in it…and, I cherish that place…I cherish the heritage of what it means to be a United Methodist…I cherish the heritage of this particular church and the faith stories of the men and women whom I have come to know…I cherish the vows that I have taken as a member…to uphold the United Methodist Church with my prayers, my presence, my gifts and my service…and, I cherish the vows that I have taken to be an ordained clergy member to lead and to shepherd the people of God, to preach the Word and to administer the Sacraments…

Every time that I come to the table, I come as I am.  I come as a baptized child of God…claimed, named, and washed by the Spirit.  I come as a sinner…forgiven and redeemed and not yet perfected…  I come not so as to give but to receive…I come humbled by God’s amazing, preparing, justifying, sanctifying and perfecting grace…those are not just words to me…they are statements of who I am and who by God’s grace I hope to be…May it be also for you.  Amen.