Home
Meet Father KempThe Sacraments
Also See
A Sacrament is "an outward and visible sign of an inward and spiritual grace" (Book of Common Prayer, p. 292). In sacraments, God uses visible and tangible created things to communicate invisible and intangible grace. Grace is the divine energy, strength or gift that we need to rise above the limitations of faller human nature and grow into the image of Christ.
"We receive grace from God in the sacraments whether we feel it or not."
The definition of a sacrament is rooted in the biblical teaching about creation. The glory of God is reflected in the physical world he made. Romans says, "Ever since the creation of the worlds, [God's] invisible nature, namely, his eternal power and deity, has been clearly perceived in the things that have been made" (1:20). The creation is an outward and visible sign of the glory of the Creator.
The sacraments are objective manifestations of the presence of Jesus. We receive grace from God in the sacraments whether we feel it or not. The objective grace fo the sacraments will frequently produce a positive subjective response in us. This will be more the case as we mature in the faith and develop the spiritual vision to perceive the grace of the sacraments. Nonetheless, Christ is present in the sacraments whether or not we feel or perceive that he is present.
"In the world to come there will not be sacraments because the wole creation, once again, be a sacrament."
We live in an age that puts great stress on subjective feelings. This is why many who are accustomed to forms of worship which focus on the emotional response don't understand sacramental worship, which focuses on the objective presence of God. The presence of Jesus in the sacraments does not depend upon whether we experience a sense of excitement. It does not depend upon the charisma of the minister. The presence of Jesus in the sacraments is an objective fact.
It is wrong to think of sacraments as things that are entirely different from or other than the rest of creation. Sacraments are the fulfillment of the creation. In the world to come there will not be sacraments because the wole creation, once again, be a sacrament.
