October 14, 2018
Hebrews 4:12-16
I would like you to stop and think for a minute about the practices in your life that you have held close to your heart. Those things that you have looked forward to on a regular basis. Perhaps they have even shaped who you are today.
One such practice in my life became an annual tradition while I was still living at home with my parents. I was fortunate enough to grow up with an in-ground pool. The pool was a source of fun and laughter throughout the summer. To take a refreshing dip in the pool after mowing the yard was something that I looked forward to. Having friends over and not having to worry about anything on a hot summer day was glorious. For my family, pool season always opened on Memorial Day! Regardless of the weather. Pool season began when I would boldly jump in and break through the surface of the water for the first time. There were Memorial Days where I would enjoy the water and stay in as long as possible because it was eighty degrees out. There were other days that I would jump in and could not get out quick enough because it was barely in the fifties.
This became a spiritual practice for me and the water reinvigorated me after the endless cold of living through another mid-Michigan winter. There is also the obvious connection of the water to our sacramental practice of baptism. In the waters of baptism, we are washed clean and receive the grace of God.
This second week of the Living Our Faith series brings us to the topic of sacraments.
While sacraments are commonly associated with religious ritual, that was not always the case. The word sacrament originally derived from the Latin word, sacramentum, and was used by the Romans when sending soldiers out to war. It was the most serious vow someone could make, to put one’s life up for the empire. There are rituals that happened long before that through the Christian churches own Jewish ancestry. Rituals are important and play an important role in forming community.
It is easy to partake in our modern sacraments. Especially when we don’t always fully understand the promises we are making. We can take them for granted and not fully live into them as God has intended for us. It is through the word of God that the sacraments embody the Holy whenever we baptize or whenever we come to the Lord’s Table to feast. The word of God does not come lightly. In our reading from Hebrews, the author writes, “Indeed, the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing until it divides soul from spirit, joints from marrow; it is able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart. And before God no creature is hidden, but all are naked and laid bare to the eyes of the one to whom we must render an account.”
When we approach the table every week, we are naked before God. All our vulnerabilities are laid bare and our actions are not invisible. God knows us and desires for us to be one with the Spirit. God wants us to be vulnerable. Not just with God, but in all our relationships. God wants us to be our true selves and to live into the reign of God.
The sacraments have not always been administered properly in the church and some have chosen to use them to their advantage as leverage or control. However, it is impossible to place limits on God. The moment that we try, God breaks through the fence, knocks down the wall, or clears the way for anything that may lay in God’s path.
God’s call for us this morning is to do the same!
Once again, we hear in the letter to the Hebrews, “Let us therefore approach the throne of grace with boldness, so that we may receive mercy and find grace in time of need.” Jesus has led the way for us to approach the sacraments with a boldness that reflects our faith. A faith that lifts Christ up as our companion that can be with us in our weaknesses and cheers us on in our strengths. To be bold and confident as we are reminded of the baptismal waters that washed over us, and to eat and drink of the body and blood of Christ which brings us to full communion with God.
The following clip from the movie, Phenomenon, is an example of how Christ works in us through the power of God’s word in the sacraments.
Like the apple, when we eat of the bread and drink of the wine, Jesus becomes a part of us. Jesus is present with us and restores us. This is the grace of God at work in a world that is often at odds with itself. We are reminded of Christ’s death on the cross and the life that he has given for all of humanity. Through the sacraments, God’s word is active and thriving. God’s word fills our hearts, minds, and souls so that we may fully live into a relationship that is comprised of love and compassion.
The practices that we live in the sacraments are an outward and visible sign of God at work in the world today. All are invited to be a part of that work. To be washed clean in the ever-flowing waters; to feast on the bread of life. In these, we encounter a God that knows no boundaries and has broken down walls so that all may experience the reign of God.
Let us pray. Living and active God, you have initiated the commands for us to be baptized and to share in your body, broken for us. In the waters and at the table, may we be renewed and experience your loving grace in our lives. Amen.
a mysterious way 