Another week has pushed past its
midpoint. As I mentioned in my last post, it’s been budget season for me at
work. As such, I’ve been extremely busy with little time to catch my breath. I
presented my budget to management in Grand Rapids, Michigan last week and all
that remains now is some final tune up on the file. I managed to make it back
home last Thursday after a frustrating day of travel (Are there any travel days
that don’t include frustration?), I’m really looking forward to the holidays
and spending some much needed time with friends and family. It’s hard to believe
that the holidays are here already. Advent will be here before we know it. I
promise to do a future post outlining the seasons of the liturgical calendar.
Over
the past few weeks, I’ve settled into a new Church and Sunday School group
consisting mainly of young couples. I feel blessed that God continues to put
positive people in my life to help me persevere in my faith. Community and
fellowship is truly the lifeblood of any congregation. I’ll have to do a post
on that as well (my list of to-do posts is getting pretty long!).
Our
group recently had a discussion regarding the ways in which God makes Himself
manifest in our lives. Most of the discussion trended towards extraordinary
moments in which God revealed His presence to various members of the group. We
tend to label these occurrences as “God Moments”. These experiences are certainly
valid. I’ve had them and you likely have as well. However, as the conversation
began to unfold, I began to wonder if we often look for God in all the wrong
places.
At
one point in the discussion, a question was posed. “Why doesn’t God reveal
Himself to us in this way (meaning “God Moments”) all the time?”. I was
initially struck by the question, but soon found the answer to be quite obvious,
yet profound. If God revealed Himself in the extraordinary on a consistent
basis, then it wouldn’t require to us to have any faith. For those called to
the marriage supper of the Lamb, faith is what bridges between God’s revelation
on Earth and God in Heaven. As Christians, too often we look for God to show up
in extraordinary ways. In doing so, we neglect the ordinary means of Grace as
ways in which God perpetually reveals Himself to us. The ordinary means of
Grace are gifts instituted by Christ to lock us into a faith that perseveres
until the end. I’m reminded of Matthew 24:13, which tells us “But he who endures to the end shall be saved.”
But what are these so-called ordinary
means of Grace? You can easily remember the 4 W’s:
Word
Wheat
Wine
Water
Or if you prefer alliterations
using the letter B, try this one:
Bible
Body
Blood
Baptism
These
four tangible items should be the very foundation of our Christian practice
(even today!). If you have doubts or trouble conceiving that God comes to us in
tangible ways, consider that there is a precedent for this happening. God came
to us in a tangible way when He sent His only son Jesus Christ to dwell among us.
The
four items in the alliteration above can be broken into two categories: Word
and Sacrament (heard that before, possibly?). Bible is grouped alone as “Word”
while body, blood, and Baptism fall under “Sacrament”. I previously wrote a post outlining in detail
what Word and Sacrament are and why they are so crucial to Christians. See that
post in the link below:
I
did want to reiterate a few quick points with regards to the Sacraments of Holy
Communion (Body and Blood from above) and Baptism. At their lowest level, both
Sacraments can be considered to be symbols. But they are not merely symbols –
not by a long shot. Sacraments are distinguishable from other symbols in the
Christian life in that they are effective in wholly conveying that whch they
symbolize.
Take
Baptism for example. Baptism symbolizes renewal and becoming a new creation in
Christ. 2 Corinthians 5:17 states this clearly “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are
passed away; behold, all things are become new.” Additionally,
Romans 6:4 reveals “Therefore we are buried
with Him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead
by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.”
However, Baptism doesn’t stop at the symbolic level. Baptism actually accomplishes something! In
Baptism, God initiates a relationship with us. What a comfort it should be that the God of the universe wants to pursue an intimate relationship with us! Somewhere along the line, Baptism in practice became more about
our choices rather than the mercy of a sovereign God. Through Baptism, we are
incorporated into the mystical body of Christ. We pass through a sort of
registration table for the Christian life. In Baptism, we receive the Grace to
begin our Christian walk. No, Baptism certainly doesn’t guarantee entrance to Heaven
and the beatific vision, but that is a discussion for another day.
In
a similar way, Holy Communion is also a symbol of Christ’s redeeming death on
the cross at Calvary. But it’s so much more than that. Scripture is clear that Christ
is actually manifest in the elements of wheat and wine. John 6: 55-58 state “For my flesh is true food, and my blood is
true drink. Whoever
feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him. As the
living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so whoever
feeds on me, he also will live because of me. This
is the bread that came down from heaven, not like the bread the fathers
ate, and died. Whoever feeds on this bread will live forever.” Christ mystically
makes Himself manifest in Holy Communion while also remaining present at the
right hand of the Father. While this concept may seem complex and beyond
comprehension, we must have faith in what God has revealed in the Word. This Sacramental understanding of Holy
Communion is paramount to us as Christians. It’s so important that 16th
century Protestant reformer John Calvin insisted that a proper understanding of
the Eucharist was necessary for salvation! Evangelicals sure have come a long
way from the time of Calvin and the Continental Reformation!
There’s
so much more that could be said about Baptism and Holy Communion, but I’ll stop
there for tonight. Look, I’m all for God moments, but let’s all resolve to
shift our everyday focus back to the ordinary means of Grace. The ordinary
means were God’s plan from the beginning of time. Next time you need to feel
God in a tangible manner, pull out that ragged, old Bible or attend a Communion
service. Otherwise, our spiritual life might more closely resemble a Johnny Lee
song than the Christian life God intended.
In Christ,
Kendal May
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