Dear COA family,
I wish I had more time and space to write on this topic because it is so crucial that we have a right and complete understanding in this matter. But I will try to be succinct and go into the heart of the matter.
Sacraments are physical acts that not only symbolize but bring about God’s spiritual work of grace in our lives.
Article 25 of the Church of England’s Articles of Religion writes:
Sacraments ordained of Christ be not only badges or tokens of Christian men’s profession, but rather they be certain sure witnesses, and effectual signs of grace, and God’s good will towards us, by the which he doth work invisibly in us, and doth not only quicken, but also strengthen and confirm our Faith in him.
There are also only two sacraments that we practice: Baptism and Holy Communion. Baptism initiates us into God’s family through our death and new birth in Christ while partaking of the Holy Communion is a continual participation in the resurrection life of our Lord. Both are powerful and effective provisions of grace in our daily lives.
I had the privilege of witnessing them at work during myCNY visitations to my relatives.
At my aunt’s place, as she was homebound, we celebrated Holy Communion. It was a powerful moment of experiencing God’s presence. There was a hardly a dry eye in our family. We received God’s encouragement and strengthening of our faith anew as we remembered his sacrifice on the cross for us and forgiveness of our sins.
Later that week, I conducted a Baptism for another uncle who had just received Christ as his Saviour. It was also a powerful moment. He confessed to his waywardness all his life and prayed earnestly for God’s forgiveness of his sins. All of us were awed by God’s tangible presence in his home.
Both were powerful testimonies of the grace that God brought about the Sacraments.
Yet we should not treat them as magical rituals that can relieve our troubles or cure our ailments. There is no power in the Sacrament in and of themselves. God is the source of all grace and He works His goodness through our faith and obedience. Our trust should be in Christ alone.
Why am I sharing this? Many in our modern age have become skeptical of the effectiveness of sacraments. They do not see the point of performing a Christian “ritual”. They believe that cognitive understanding and mental assent of the faith is all that is needed. Due to this, they tell me that there is no need to get baptized or partake of the Holy Communion regularly.
Yet to do so is to cut off from themselves a vital source of God’s grace. Let us all commit to trusting and partaking in God’s empowering grace to us through His sacraments this year.
Blessings,
Revd Ian