SACRAMENTS

The word “sacrament” derives from the Latin word for a soldier’s oath on entering the army or for any solemn engagement or pledge of a religious nature. When the Scriptures were translated from Greek into Latin, sacramentum was used to translate the Greek word mysterion, which refers to a “symbol” or “something of mystical significance”. Soon the word “sacrament” was used only of Christian acts that were believed to have mysterious and sacred significance.

Over time, the word “sacrament” came to be attached to various things that were seen as channels of divine grace. The Roman Catholic Church identified seven sacraments: Baptism, Confirmation, the Eucharist, Marriage, Ordination, Penance and Anointing of the Sick (given just before death). Protestants, however, recognise only two sacraments, baptism and the Eucharist or the Lord’s Supper, both of which were instituted by Christ himself. Protestants also emphasise the importance of preaching the word whenever the sacraments are administered. Only in the light of God’s word do they find their

proper confirmatory and supporting role, pointing to Christ and confirming our faith in him. There are two sides to each sacrament. On the one hand, each is a visible representation of God’s grace; on the other, each involves an action on the part of the believer, who responds to divine grace by binding himself or herself to God in faith and love.

In baptism, the visible sign is water, and the believer’s action is accepting immersion in the water in a ritual that unites the one baptised with Christ and his people. In some churches, infants from Christian families are baptised, whereas other churches will baptise only confessing believers. In South Asia, baptism has become problematic for Dalits as this public declaration of faith in Christ can lead to their losing all the privileges associated with membership in a scheduled caste, without any other change in their economic circumstances. In situations like this, we must allow God the Holy Spirit to give the individual the conviction and urge to be baptised. It is unwise to push them towards baptism, especially now that anticonversion laws are already in place in many states.

In the Eucharist, the visible signs are the bread and wine and the believer’s action is eating the bread and drinking the wine. Whereas baptism is an individual matter, the Eucharist is a corporate sacrament, one that Christians celebrate together. Bread and wine are used because Jesus used them, for they were the basic food and drink of his day. However, in South Asia the use of wine is contentious, and many churches prefer to use grape juice. Some churches have even gone so far as to substitute indigenous foods like roti and tea for the bread and wine.

The key thing to remember is that baptism and the Eucharist are not magical ways to manipulate God but are outward symbols of an inward grace that is operating in our hearts and minds. Ultimately they connote a “mystery” that can best be expressed in signs and not by speech. Baptism with water shows the cleansing of sin and our dying and rising with Christ and publically proclaims that someone has become a follower of Christ (Rom 6:3-4). The bread and the wine in the Eucharist remind us of the costly grace of God. The wine symbolises the forgiveness of sins through Christ’s blood shed on the cross and the bread symbolises Christ’s broken body through which he nourishes and sustains us (Luke 22:17-20). God calls us to participate in these sacraments so that we can stand firm to the end.

They are also a witness to others about what we believe about Jesus Christ, and thus they have a strong missionary element.

Monodeep Daniel