Genie In A Bottle

I was talking with someone the other day about Sacraments and discovered that we have radically different views. While I can see where he's coming from, I don't think I'll ever agree. One of the main differences between our two understandings is that I think, when all the elements are present, the Sacraments are always effective, while he thinks that can't be said with any certainty because it would turn God into a genie Who could be forced to do something by someone who utters the right 'magical' words.

While I agree the idea of shoving God into a glass bottle to be summoned as a wish-granting servant is unnerving, I don't think it's possible to say the Sacraments don't impart a grace that changes a person. I guess what this means is that I'm going to go on and on about Sacraments now and that nothing short of a miracle will stop me. So you should probably put your hands together and pray for one.

So, Baptism. The idea put before me was that it is a sign of the community choosing to welcome you. That's all well and good, but I think Baptism also changes you. It binds you into the Church, Christ's body. You are now something that you weren't. I know the imagery of marriage to Jesus had been embraced by religious orders, but by being made one with the spouse -- the Church -- in Baptism, the soul is united to God. Jesus becomes a part of us because, in his love for us, he dwells in us and we in him. The reason that professing religious life isn't a Sacrament is because the substance of the soul's marriage to Christ has already been accomplished by Baptism. There can be a renewal and deepening of that relationship, but it's already there. The marriage remains even though the union hasn't been consummated and isn't complete: our Lord is a patient husband.

Baptism aside, on to Confirmation. The idea he discussed with me was that Confirmation is you choosing to be a part of the community that already welcomed you. I personally think the meaning of Confirmation has been somewhat warped by ripping it apart from the larger initiation ritual. It goes exorcism, Baptism, Confirmation; Confirmation is the seal of the Holy Spirit given to strengthen the person against the devil, to keep out the demonic which had been driven out, and to enhance / impart the fruits of the Spirit first given in the gift of grace. The Spirit indwells in you and forges an even closer bond between you and Jesus.

Next up: Eucharist. Oh boy, this is the one where people start throwing rocks at each other and shouting things like 'burn the heretic.' I really don't want to become a human marshmallow. I think the bread and wine actually become the Body and Blood of Christ, so you're partaking of the one Sacrifice of Jesus Christ for the world. I don't particularly care what happens to the substance of the bread and wine: it's either gone, leaving only accidents behind, or it's still there (and before you go complaining that two substances can't occupy the same space at once, remember that the One God is a Trinity and Jesus is both human and Divine). That question isn't particularly important. The person I was talking to believes that Eucharist is essentially a symbol that can help you accept that Jesus died to save you from your sins and to embrace that one offering for all time, thereby allowing you to 'participate' in that sacrifice.

He also thinks ordination doesn't do much more than confirm what God has already done in calling someone to ministry, that God has chosen you, and maybe that it adds a special blessing on that. But I think I'll save the Holy Orders discussion for another time.

Anyway, those are the Sacraments we got around to discussing. I've talked about Confession and Unction elsewhere, so if you're excruciatingly bored you can check that out, though I'd recommend against it. Obviously, anything I've said here is pretty superficial: I've done more sophisticated versions at other times, but really you need to embed it in a systematic approach to sacramental theology, and it's more fun if it's in the context of a robust catechetical program that includes stuff like Creation. Woohoo!!

While I agree with my friend that you can't force God to do anything, I also believe the Sacraments were freely given to us as gifts until the end of time. While they are a participation in eternal life, it's not like they cause or guarantee our salvation. That's the province of God alone (which means at some point someone will call me on my argument that Baptism grafts you into the Church but you can end up outside the gates of heaven anyway. Umm...it's complicated, so I prefer to avoid that minefield until absolutely necessary).

The only Sacrament at the end of time is the Church. I don't think the Church is a Sacrament now in the same way as the others but, someday, when we are all changed and made perfect within her, we -- the Church -- will be graced with the unity that will put us into perfect communion with God as a spouse interpenetrating us in an eternal perichoresis between God and the Church born from Christ's side. Though the marks of the other Sacraments remain on the soul, they have no more effect. They are for this life, not the next.

And for this life, they are real and true, gifts that do not fail.