High Sacramentality

I preached the final sermon on "Wesleyan Disctinctives" yesterday. My focus was on the Sacraments, specifically Holy Communion. The text is below...

High Sacramentality? 1Corinthians 11:23-34

The past few weeks, we’ve been talking about Wesleyan Distinctives—what makes us distinct as Wesleyans. The first week we talked about practical theology—the order of salvation, the second week we talked about ecumenism; the third week we talked about conjunctive theology—the Whole Gospel; and last week we talked about free will and predestination—Arminianism vs. Calvinism. Today, we will discuss High Sacramentality.
Did y’all know that the General Conference of the United Methodist Church, our highest level of denominational direction, has recently released a document encouraging UM congregations to begin celebrating the Lord’s Supper on a weekly basis? What do you think? No, really, what do you think? I think it is a great idea, and hopefully by the end of our time together this morning y’all will understand why.
The Sacraments of Baptism & Holy Communion are identified by John Wesley as means of grace. In his Sermon on the Means of Grace, JW defines the means of grace as “the outward symbols, words, and actions that God ordained to be the ordinary channels through which He might convey to us His prevenient, justifying and sanctifying grace.” In other words, along with the other means of grace, Holy Baptism & Communion are the normal ways through which the ever-present grace of God is made available and useable to us. A major factor in my choice to practice my faith in God through Jesus Christ as a UM comes from my experiences of the grace and presence of God through the Sacrament of Holy Communion. I deeply appreciate the UM high view of the Sacraments balanced with our zeal for evangelism and social justice. The conduct of worship and the administration of the sacraments create the Body of Christ, and we devote ourselves to being faithful members of it. Therefore, today we are going to talk about Sacraments.
What is a Sacrament? The Greek word used in the early church for sacrament is mysterion, usually translated mystery. It indicates that through the sacraments, God discloses things that are beyond human capacity to know through reason alone. In Latin the word used is sacramentum, which means a vow or promise. Therefore, when we celebrate the mystery of Holy Communion we are remembering Jesus’ promise that we are reconciled to God the Father through Christ, the Son, by the power of the Holy Spirit. The sacraments were instituted by Christ and given to the church. Jesus Christ is himself the ultimate manifestation of a sacrament. In the coming of Jesus of Nazareth, God's nature and purpose were revealed and active through a human body. The Christian church is also sacramental. It was instituted to continue the work of Christ in redeeming the world. The church is Christ's body — the visible, material instrument through which Christ continues to be made known and the divine plan is fulfilled. Holy Baptism and Holy Communion have been chosen and designated by God as special means through which divine grace comes to us. Holy Baptism is the sacrament that initiates us into the body of Christ "through water and the Spirit". In baptism we receive our identity and mission as Christians. Holy Communion is the sacrament that sustains and nourishes us in our journey of salvation. In a sacrament, God uses tangible, material things as vehicles or instruments of grace. Wesley defines a sacrament, in accord with his Anglican tradition, as "an outward sign of inward grace, and a means whereby we receive the same[i]." Sacraments are sign-acts, which include words, actions, and physical elements. They both express and convey the gracious love of God. They make God's love both visible and effective. We might even say that sacraments are God's "show and tell," communicating with us in a way that we, in all our brokenness and limitations, can receive and experience God's grace[ii].
Specifically this morning I want to focus on Holy Communion—The Lord’s Supper, the Eucharist—and then we will share this special feast together. In the UM hymnal A Service of Word and Table the invitation to Holy Communion is; “Christ our Lord invites to his table all who love him, who earnestly repent of their sin and seek to live in peace with one another...” I don’t know why, but one Sunday about 12 years ago those words resonated with me. For some reason the ritual of The Lord’s Supper was meaningful to me for the 1st time in a lifetime of monthly communion rituals. Maybe it was the physical act of walking forward to receive it (the church I grew up in passed the elements through the pews), maybe it was taking the elements by intinction (I do love dunking things—donuts & French dip sandwiches), maybe it was the delicious Kings Hawaiian Bread instead of those gross little squares we used @ St. Luke CPC, or maybe it was because that was the 1st time I celebrated the Eucharist with a heart that was longing for God. Actually, it was probably all of the above, but the most important factor was the inclination of my heart. Practicing traditional church liturgy with a heart that earnestly longs for more of God is true, high sacramentality.
The story is told of a little girl whose parents had taken her forward to receive Holy Communion. Disappointed with the small piece of bread she was given to dip in the cup, the child cried loudly, "I want more! I want more!" (you could also talk about how boys always try to get seconds.) Like the little girl who was disappointed with what she received, United Methodist people are looking and hoping for something more in their Eucharistic experience. As we move toward a richer sacramental life, including weekly celebration of Holy Communion, we ask what spiritual benefits we receive from it. What do divine love and power do in and for us through our participation in the sacrament? The answers to this question involve forgiveness, nourishment, healing, transformation, ministry and mission, and eternal life. This morning I will highlight the nourishment available through Holy Communion.
We receive spiritual nourishment through Holy Communion. In his sermon, “The Duty of Constant Communion,” Wesley wrote that, "This is the food of our souls: This gives strength to perform our duty, and leads us on to perfection[iii]." God makes such sustenance available through the sacrament of Eucharist. In John 6:35, Jesus tells the crowd: "I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty." As we return to the Table again and again, we are strengthened repeatedly. We go out empowered to live as disciples, reconcilers, and witnesses. In the words of the prayer after Communion, "Grant that we may go into the world in the strength of your Spirit, to give ourselves for others[iv] . . .” As we encounter Christ in Holy Communion and are repeatedly touched by divine grace, we are progressively shaped into Christ's image. All of this work is not done in a moment, no matter how dramatic an experience we may enjoy. It is, instead, a lifelong process through which God intends to shape us into people motivated by love, empowered and impassioned to do Christ's work in the world. The identity and ministry that God bestows on us in our baptism are fulfilled as we continue to be transformed into disciples who can respond to God's love by loving God and others (Romans 12:1-2). The Christian life is a journey, one that is challenging and arduous. I am convinced that the life of faith is like a marathon, not a sprint. When I decided to run in the Flying Pig Marathon back in January, I wasn’t sure what I was getting myself into, but I knew it would require a lot of nourishment and training. As the months progressed I became better equipped to run long distance. Running the actual 26.2 mile race was like a condensed version of life. The event itself was very exciting. There were thousands of people crowded onto the street at the starting line and for the first few miles many of us were together, then we hit a pretty long and steep hill and the crowd began thinning out. Along the way were people cheering us on, bands playing, and gator-aide/water stops. There were a couple spots where we got cookies and oranges, too, (one was a Presbyterian church, I think). I also had some GU with me in order to provide my body with the carbs it needed to keep going. After the initial excitement wore off, my running buddy, John, and I settled into a rhythm—you could almost say the journey became routine almost boring at points. Then, there was the pain. At about mile 18 my hip starting hurting and by mile 22 the pain was so excruciating I was ready to quit. It was about that time that I saw Hannah & Dave Granger. They were waiting for me and they ran along side for a mile or so—there was no way I was gonna let them see me quit! Dave told me I was almost to the finish line (very good news indeed) and he told me how the end of the course was laid out so I would know what to expect. The pain didn’t go away, but I got renewed energy from their encouragement and I even found some reserves to fuel a sprint for the final 50 yards. Crossing the finish line I experienced euphoria and an incredible sense of accomplishment. I had trained well, partaken of the proper nourishment, and thanks to my friends who had already been to where I was going I reached my goal—that is such a good picture of Christian living I will be using that story for a long time! Just like running a marathon takes a lot of fuel, to continue living faithfully and growing in holiness requires constant sustenance.The sacrament of Holy Communion is one way that we experience that sustenance. You know, there are several different ways that Christians have historically experienced communion. The Roman Catholic Church teaches “transubstantiation” which means that the bread and the wine actually and miraculously transform into the body and blood of Jesus. It’s kind of gross to think about eating actual flesh and blood, but what a statement it makes! We remember that a big part of what Jesus did for us was to sacrifice his actual blood and body. He suffered and died for us, and we feast on his divine substance. We are nourished by the divine. Then there’s a much more laid back approach that was forwarded by Ulrich Zwingli in the 16th century. He said that it was merely an act of remembrance. That’s it. The act of communion helps us to remember the life, death, and resurrection of Christ. In Zwingli’s view, it isn’t very spiritual or mystical, it is simply a manner in which we remember. We Wesleyan’s stand somewhere in the middle. We believe it is more than just a simple act of remembrance, but we also don’t teach that the bread and wine actually turn into flesh and blood. In this sacred and mysterious act we are nourished by the holy presence of Christ. We are also nourished by the presence of each other. We are not in this Christian life alone! The essence of Christianity is community, therefore we practice communion. We commune with the triune Godhead and we commune with one another. We share in this sacred journey and along the way we grab some nourishment at the Lord’s Table. We remember that our source is Jesus Christ and we remember his life and death in this holy act of communion. And we also remember that Christ is victorious. He crossed the finish line and now thanks to the giving of Holy Spirit at Pentecost God is running along side us encouraging us, guiding us up over the next hill and around the bend. Christ overcame slavery to sin and death for you and me. And every time you eat this bread and drink this wine, you are expected to remember the victory just as much as you are expected to remember the sacrifice. Christianity is a religion of hope. Always of hope. Let’s commune together now in hope. Amen.
[i] "Means of Grace," II.1
[ii] “This Holy Mystery: The Theology of the Sacraments.”
[iii] "The Duty of Constant Communion, I.3
[iv] UMH; page 11