On Sacrament

What is Sacrament? 

     This is a concept that many from non-sacramental Christian traditions often find difficult to understand. Often, they mistake it for a kind of "magic," or as a kind of salvific (referring to justification) work to be done, and as such reject it outright and don't understand why the sacramental traditions put such an emphasis on it. Frequently, this misunderstanding is why those traditions are often accused of salvation by works. It does not help that those within the sacramental traditions themselves frequently don't understand the concept either.

     First, Sacrament is not magic. Magic (and not illusion) can be defined as the control of unseen forces by the manipulation of words, spell components, or incantations by a human being. The power and authority rests within the human being who is doing the incantations.

     Sacraments operate always by the priest or pastor requesting the Holy Spirit to effect them. Quite literally, the priest or pastor is asking for the Holy Spirit to perform a miracle. There is no personal power or authority residing in the person of the priest or pastor except for the Spirit of Christ who has been joined to them through their own baptisms. The priest acts, not from himself or herself, but "In Persona Christi," that is, "in the person of Christ." 

     In the liturgical rites involving Sacraments within the Catholic, Orthodox, and Anglican churches and their individual local divisions, there is always a prayer for the Holy Spirit to act and effect change, consecrate, bless, or seal (the Lutheran Church liturgies tend to omit this prayer, something with which I do not agree). The one possible exception to this is the Sacrament of Reconciliation, but even this involves prayer for forgiveness on the part of both the priest and the penitent, and the priest then pronounces a forgiveness and absolution which has already been effected by the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

     Theologically, a Sacrament is defined as "a visible expression of an invisible grace." In my humble theological opinion, this is no different from the Christian remaining in Christ and walking in the Spirit as the Christian in submission to Jesus Christ, and asking the Spirit of Christ to act and speak through him or her, becomes the visible manifestation of the invisible Spirit of Christ. They act and speak "In Persona Christi" for all those around them, allowing those around them to interact with and experience Jesus Christ through them. And this is the fundamental practice of genuine Christian discipleship.

     According to the Roman Catholic and Old Catholic Churches, there are seven recognized Sacraments. According to the Anglican and Lutheran churches there are two. But I personally tend towards the Eastern Orthodox view that there is no specific set number of Sacraments, but rather every action done in and by the Spirit of Christ through the Christian is a Sacramental action, and that the Christian life lived as Jesus and Paul taught is a holistically or wholly Sacramental life, asking the Spirit of Christ to act and speak through you, and disengaging from yourself. So, to act by the Spirit of Christ is to act Sacramentally. To speak by the Spirit of Christ is to speak Sacramentally. And to pray by the Spirit of Christ is to pray Sacramentally.

     The Sacramental life then, as I have described it, is not magic, but miracle. It is not superstitious, but empowered by the Holy Spirit. It is the life of Jesus Christ being experienced and being radiated by the disciple of Jesus Christ to all those around them.