The Sacraments

One very popular understanding of a sacrament is that it is “an outward and visible sign of an inward and spiritual grace” (BCP, 857). What’s emphasized here is a sacrament as a mode of communication: grace, something subtle, mysterious, hidden, becomes visible, tangible, material; is communicated through that materiality; and is intangibly, invisibly, spiritually received. Ordinary things of this world—water, bread, wine—are revealed to be vessels and vehicles of an extraordinary and abundant grace.

It’s not enough, though, to stop there! The grace given and received in the sacraments is a real participation in the life of Jesus Christ. Jesus is the fountain of life; the sacraments are channels through which that transformative life of love flows into the life of the church, the life of the faithful. The sacraments are promised means by which Christ makes present in the Church, his body, the reality of his ministry, his love, his life. Through the sacraments, the church is formed, forgiven, renewed, nurtured, empowered by Christ to be Christ’s body in the world. Through the sacraments, the church makes Christ’s work available to the world. And faith receives the gifts of grace the sacraments convey.