12. Sacraments and ceremonies in the mission of the church
What should be considered sacraments and
what really went on in them was a major area of dispute at the Reformation.
These debates also connected to deep questions about what was a true church and
a valid ministry.
The argument with Catholics was first of
all how many sacraments there were: two (baptism and the eucharist) or seven
(including marriage, penance, last rites and others). Zwingli and Luther clashed
over whether a sacrament was something we did or something God did, and was
there a real presence of Christ in the elements of bread and wine, or was it
just a memorial meal? The importance of sacraments in the Christian life
contributed to a sense of the set apartness of those authorised or ordained to
conduct them. The complexity of the philosophical and theological arguments used
to defend different views contributed to the felt need for a high level of
education among clergy.
Today Presbyterians officially retain just
two sacraments, yet the idea that God may also be present in a special way
through other rituals and associations which draw us into the life and teaching
of Jesus and the continuity of a Christian fellowship of the Saints through the
ages, extends quite widely. Whether our theology of sacrament is more
memorialist (as Zwingli) or affirms the real presence of Christ, though not the
changing of the elements into body and blood even in essence (as Calvin); the
expectation of spiritual experience reinforced by familiar patterns of devotion
often attaches not just to communion and baptism, but also to a range of other
activities involving prayer music and familiar movements. Although the
theological controls might be a bit weak, it is possible to think sacramentally
about human experience in general, not just in relation to events named as
sacraments. When we expect familiar words and songs to reproduce a spiritual
effect we remember, nostalgia and sacrament may be more linked than we realise.
Whether we call them sacraments or not, there are many things we can do which
raise the expectation that Christ will be present.
Language and ritual
Whoever thinks Presbyterians do not have
rituals has not tried to change how things are done on a Sunday morning! The
problem is not whether we have rituals, but whether they connect with either
their intended spiritual significance or with an actual congregation.
Some of the issues around the worthiness of
those presiding and participating, the importance of words, the sense of
occasion, and what “guarantees” efficacy (if such can be either defined or
guaranteed), are still worth noting. We may take more comfort than we should
from knowing that God is greater than our forms of words, the moral state of the
one presiding, or that of those participating. Words link us powerfully to past
memories and renew spiritual linkages. In our lives, as in our liturgies, we do
not “sin more that grace may abound” (Romans, 6:1). Perhaps we also need to note
that the absence of liturgy is not the absence of ritual — there are always
patterns, and they may communicate authenticity as much by linkage with
tradition as they can by spontaneity.
New Zealand Presbyterians are not required
to follow a set liturgy, but we are able to choose and to modify. When this is
done in a way which is sensitive to the nature of the sacrament and to the sense
of what is appropriate language for the community, it can be powerful. There are
traps. Words, potent at first, can quickly lose their freshness, like a TV add.
screened too many times.
Initiation
From the early church Initiation into the
Christian community developed ways of handling the needs of adult and younger
converts to grow in understanding of the faith, and to mark the milestones of
their commitment and responsibility. Baptism of believers and of their children
developed out of the practice of John the Baptist and Jesus’ command in the
Great Commission.
Education of new believers through a
catechumenate, was also needed for those baptised as children who were confirmed
when they made their own confession of faith in Christ, encouraged the
development of Cathechisms. These became a teaching tool of the Reformation
developed by Luther, and Calvin and Anglicans in the Book of Common Prayer. The
Longer and Shorter Catechisms of Presbyterianism came from the 17th century.
Chalmers developed his own catechism for children, even though the Shorter
Catechism was the standing teaching tool of his era and beyond.
Reformed Churches, like many others,
practice infant baptism for Christian families, and provide for initiation into
responsible membership through Confirmation for those baptised as infants, and
through believers baptism for those who were not.
Sincerity here is probably more important than practice, but we need also to have some respect for the discipline of our own churches. Some people are surprised to discover that there are Spirit-filled Christians who wish to have their infant children baptised and who believe that this is quite consistent with the teaching of the Scriptures. This is an area where we may not resolve disagreements which have defeated wiser minds and more patient souls than ours, but there are some things which can reduce the size of the problem. The Church of South India now baptises adult converts by immersion unless there is reason to do otherwise.
The Presbyterian Church of New Zealand
permits a service of confirmation by immersion which seeks to avoid the idea of
a "second baptism". Many congregations follow the wishes of parents as to
whether they wish to have infant baptism or infant dedication."
John Roxborogh, The Charismatic
Movement and the Churches, Impetus Publications (Bible College of New
Zealand), 1995, p15f.
Some churches, including the Presbyterian
Church of New Zealand and the United Reformed Church in UK, include leaders and
congregations who only baptise those who make a confession of faith in their own
right.
Mission
Baptism, whether infant or believers, and
Communion are both important for mission. Many congregations could be more
intentional about calling people not only to repentance and faith, but also to
baptism. Communion is becoming more frequent in many congregations, including
evangelical. Confirmation and new believers classes need to find a fresh part in
the expectations of the church life of many congregations.
Who should preside?
It is not correct to say that just anyone can preside at the sacraments. No doubt some clergy have been over-zealous in saying that ordination is necessary, and disrespect for elders in the faith is not usually a sign of Christian maturity, but frankly there are bigger sins in the world than unauthorised communions and baptisms.
At the same time few Christians think this is something that just anyone should be allowed to do.
The
real question is whether authorisation could bear closer relationship to the
gifts and calling of leadership which actually matter. If the theological
understanding needed to get our heads around the complex debates of the 16th
century is no longer quite so important, then there may be
further
reason for believing
that the ordination of elders can
be extended to
include authorisation to
also minister the sacraments.
John Roxborogh