I was chatting to a young couple this week as they were doing another session of “Prepare” with me, which is a pre-marriage preparation course (hence the name) that I encourage couples to undertake in preparation for married life. It is absolutely the best preparation course for engaged couples there is. Anyhoo, one of the sections in the Prepare questionnaire is about spirituality, and one question asks about whether one “understands what the Church teaches about marriage as a sacrament?”
This raised questions for them. What is a “sacrament”? How is marriage a “sacrament”. The discussion that followed was wonderful!
In ancient Roman times, sacramentum referred to a sacred pledge of sincerity or fidelity which was publicly symbolised by a visible sign such as a deposit of money or an oath of allegiance. This Latin word was also used to translate the Greek word mysterion broadly referring to hidden realities or, specifically, to sacred rites. One of the earliest church fathers, Tertullian (155-220 AD), was the first to refer to the ritual of baptism, through which initiates pledged faithfulness to Christ, as a sacramentum. During the era of the early church fathers, sacramentum became a generic term that was applied to anything that signified a Christian mystery. Another of the later church fathers, Augustine (354-430 AD), defined “sacrament” as a sign of something sacred. He saw both baptism and marriage as sacramental in nature. Likewise, Innocent (that really was his name), who was bishop of Rome from 401 AD until his death in 413 AD, recognised that the Lord’s Supper enactment and participation in it, as well as the use of consecrated anointing oil, were also sacramental administrations of God’s grace.
But what is this sacramentum/mysterion thing, really? What is it that actually makes a sacrament a sacred thing?
Well, without getting overly technical and too theological to be helpful to anyone, a sacrament is a kind of enactment, or participation in something that God is doing, or is about to do. A sacrament is a means by which, or a tool or ritual, that when handled properly and in a consecrated way, mediates, or imparts the grace of God in some way – a blessing. A sacrament is a sacred sign that God is involved in the moment. A “sacramental tool” (such a marriage covenant, or the bread and wine of the eucharist, for examples) is a sacred sign of something real and signifies certain effects – especially spiritual ones - which are received from God by those participating. There is no power in the actual sacramental tool or ritual itself – they are not magic. But when we approach a sacramental moment or ritual in consecrated faithful desire to enter into the mystery of what God is doing, the grace of God is released to us in wonderful blessing. Properly preparing ourselves for the Lord’s Supper, or the ritual of baptism, for example, or a prayer team properly understanding how to use the oil of anointing and what it means when praying for the sick – and doing so by faith in God, not the sacramental element itself – releases powerful blessings of healing. In short, the consecrated participation in a sacrament engages with the redeeming activity and power of Christ and, in such participation, we receive salvation riches.
Properly using sacramentals in a sacramental enactment are the visible signs within which blessing is worthily received. The whole environment within which sacraments are administered and received is the intercessional atmosphere of the whole body of Christ, which is always united with Him. This is one critical reason that unity in the church is so important. And this is why the apostle Paul castigated the Corinthian church for mishandling, even abusing, the Lord’s Supper …
1 Corinthians 11:27-30 (NRSV)
“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.
28 Examine yourselves, and only then eat of the bread and drink of the cup. 29 For all who eat and drink without discerning the body, eat and drink judgment against themselves. 30 For this reason many of you are weak and ill, and some have died.”
Another of the apostle’s concerns (v.30) was that there was a marked absence of God’s power in the Lord’s Supper sacrament because it was not being respected – God was absent from the ritual because it was no longer a sacrament in the genuine sense. It was becoming empty ritual.
Today most Protestant denominations recognise two main sacraments of Lord’s Supper and baptism, although both Baptists and Churches of Christ call these ordinances – which I think detracts significantly from the sacramental understanding such as these are often reduced in our experience as things we have to do because Jesus said, i.e. rites and rituals. But, there is much more going on in a sacramental enactment. And I believe, too, that there are other sacraments which we Protestants take for granted – preachers preaching, for one example.
A sacrament is a rite or practice in which created things become a vehicle or a vessel of God’s blessing. And so, when we get right down to it, the fellowship of Christ’s body – the church – really should behave and function in such a way that it is sacrament to each believer and, together, a sacrament that God uses to release blessing to the world. Disunity destroys any sacramental potential.
Matthew 5:13-14 (NRSV)
"You are the salt of the earth; but if salt has lost its taste, how can its saltiness be restored?
It is no longer good for anything, but is thrown out and trampled underfoot.
14 "You are the light of the world.
A city built on a hill cannot be hid.”
Think on these things …
Ps Milton
[Sources: A New Dictionary of Theology, The Eerdmans Bible Dictionary, A New Eusebius, and other file notes]