No Magic in the Sacraments
It wasn’t until later this week that I took notice of the epistle lesson from last Sunday, I Corinthians 10: 1-13.
In chapter 9 Paul concluded that everyone is competing in a race to attain imperishable wreath. Therefore, like any athlete we need to exercise self-control in our training and race in our faith in Christ.
As an example, Paul cites how the Israelites had received God’s sacramental blessings in the wilderness in order to strengthen them for the journey to the Promised Land. They were all baptized into Moses as they passed through the Red Sea to freedom from slavery. They had received the equivalent of Holy Communion in the drink they had received from the rock. Paul says this spiritual drink came from the spiritual rock which was Christ. The bread they ate was not ordinary bread, but a “bread from heaven,” making it a spiritual bread.
Nevertheless, God was not pleased with the majority of them and left their bodies scattered in the wilderness. They never did get to the Promised Land.
The specific reasons Paul cites for the failure of Israelites applies to the life of the Corinthians Christians. They worshipped false gods. This led to feasting to the golden calf and celebrating, which in turn led them into sexual immorality. Twenty three thousand fell in a single day. They put God to the test and more died as the result of poisonous serpents. Others grumbled about God and were destroyed. Their central problem was that they took all the gifts which God offered and then forgot about God in their living.
The sacraments are not magical acts that give us God’s guaranteed blessings at Baptism or at Holy Communion, thus God can be forgotten the rest of the week or the rest of our life. Our life is in Christ. Our life is lived in Christ. If we believe that once we are baptized or receive Communion, we are free to live our life according to our own desires and thinking, we are sadly in for a great fall.
We will, indeed, face numerous temptations to “do things my way.” These temptations should not be minimized. But God is faithful. He will not let us be tempted beyond our ability to withstand. He also provides a means of escape. His grace is ever present in our lives. The Holy Spirit continues to work through our Baptism and the body and blood of Christ we received, not only while we are at the font or at the table. In Baptism we were clothed with Christ. In Holy Communion we ingest Christ into our body. Thus protected with Christ and nourished with Christ, we ever live in trust in his promises. When in weakness we fail, and we will, we come back to Christ to receive his assurance over and over again.
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