Introduction
1. What is a Sacrament?
2.
Encountering the Risen Christ in Sacraments
2.1. The Acts of the Apostles
2.2. Easter Faith of the Apostolic
Community
2.3. St. Paul’s
Encountering Risen Christ
2.4. The Disciples’
Encountering Risen Christ
3.
The Understanding in the Tradition of the Church
3.1. The Lord’s Day (Sunday)
3.2. St. Cyprian of
Carthage
3.3. St. Ignatius of
Antioch
3.4. Sunday Martyrs
Conclusion
Introduction
Edward Schillebeekx was
the first one to use encounter theology. His idea was based on Scripture and
Tradition. He was the first one to articulate this encounter theology.
According to him, sacraments cannot be studied in a compartmental manner. He
begins with Christ and comes to the Church and then deals with sacraments.
Christ is the primordial sacrament and the Risen Lord historically continued in
his Church. Since the church is the sacramental expression of the encounter
between man and God in Christ, whenever the sacrament is celebrated this
encounter is renewed. Every act of Christ is rooted in the eternity of the
divine nature of Christ. Therefore, it persists eternally. The sacrament gives
the eternally subsisting act of Christ its historical celebration reenacts the
personal encounter between God and the human person in Jesus Christ. The
efficacy of the sacrament is realized by this encounter. So sacraments are the
very same acts of Christ sacramentally presented to us and hence effect grace
in the recipient. The celebration of the seven sacraments at different moments
of life is meant to help us identify with Jesus Christ throughout our lives.
Encountering the Risen Lord in the Sacraments of the Church seems the best way
to describe the comprehensive action of the sacraments. Encounter allows scope
for the free and sovereign action of God in creation and also leaves space for
humankind to respond to that action in freedom. It is a meeting to which we
come without an agenda expect that of being totally at the disposal of God.
Sacrament as encounter with the Risen Lord uses the interpersonal model
relationship. Edward Schillebeeckx used phenomenology to interpret the
sacramental action. In His work: Christ the sacrament of the encounter with God
was epoch- making as it stressed the relational aspect in sacramental
celebration. The
Sacraments are the gifts of the Risen Christ to us and to the Church. They give
us God’s life. They make God’s life grow in us. They empower us to be in the Church
and to bring Christ to the world.
1. What is a Sacrament?
A Sacrament is an outward sign of
inward grace by which grace is given to our souls.
2.
Encountering the Risen Christ in Sacraments
The meeting of Risen
Lord with the two disciples on their way to Emmaus narrated in the Gospel of
Luke (24:13-35) is a proof text that the believers encounter the Risen Christ
in the celebration of sacrament. When Jesus joined with them on their journey,
they said, “The Chief priests and our rulers handed him over to be sentenced to
death, and they crucified him; but we had hoped that he was the one who was
going to redeem Israel. And what is more, it is the third day since all this
took place. In addition, some of our women amazed us. They went to the tomb
early this morning but didn’t find his body. They came and told us that they
had seen a vision of angels, who said he was alive. Then some of our companions
went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said, but they did not see
Jesus”. (Lk 24:20-24).
The disciples witnessed
the death of Jesus and heard about the glorious resurrection from fellow
witnesses. However, they failed to believe the witness and left Jerusalem
against the instruction of the Lord to stay in Jerusalem till the power from
high came upon them. In their conversation reported in the gospel they express
their disappointment to Jesus himself without knowing that it was the Risen
Lord. The entire meeting has sacramental underpinning. Jesus first explains the
Scripture to them, especially all that is written about him: “And beginning
with Moses and all the prophets, explained to them what was said in all the
scriptures concerning himself” (Lk 24: 27). The encounter did not stop with the
proclamation of the word of God. The proclamation of the word of God prepares
the way for recognizing His glorious presence in their midst in the celebration
of the Eucharist, “their eyes were opened”.
The Journey to Emmaus
was indeed a journey of faith for the two disciples. In the encounter, it is
important to notice the action of Jesus: “When he was at the table with them,
he took bread, gave thanks, broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is my
body given for you; do this in remembrance of me” (Lk 22:19). It is the same
Eucharistic action that Paul attests to in the Christian Tradition: “For I
received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: The Lord Jesus, on the
night he was betrayed, took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it
and said, “This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me’” (I
Cor 11: 23-24).
The NT texts like these
attest to the fact that it was during the Eucharistic celebration the Christian
community encountered the Risen Christ. When they participated in a Koinonia that brought them together to
recall what Jesus did (anamnesis) in
his life and live out its meaning in the present. Therefore, encountering with
the Risen Christ in the Sacrament of Eucharist was not a static reality as if
one meets a famous personality takes a pictures and leaves with that photo. The
sacramental encounter with the Risen Lord was a dynamic reality that moves to
live or transform that experience in Christian living. In every sacramental
moment we raise our minds and hearts to God. In the word and rite of the
sacrament we open ourselves totally to the effect of the sacrament in our
bodiliness. The effect to the sacramental action (res sacramenti) is to make us experience unity with Christ and with
one another in the Church.
2.1.
The Acts of the Apostles
The
Acts of the Apostles present to us several evidences of early Christians
celebrating sacraments, especially the celebration of the Holy Eucharist. In
the celebration of the Eucharist, the members of the NT community realized that
they came together around the glorified presence of the Risen Lord in their
midst: “they continued steadfastly in the teaching of the apostles and in the
communion of the breaking of bread and in prayers . . . praising God and being
in favor with all the people” (Acts 2:41-47). The sacramental life of the early
Church was occasional, meaning, gathering once a year or only on some special
occasions. For the NT community, sacramental celebration was the essential mark
of Christian identity. Throughout history, including our own time, sacramental
celebration remains as a mark of our Christian identity. Vatican II explains it
in the following words:
From that time onwards the Church has never failed
to come together to celebrate the paschal mystery: reading those things
"which were in all the scriptures concerning him" (Lk 24:27),
celebrating the Eucharist in which "the victory and triumph of his death are again made
present", and at the same time giving thanks "to God for his
unspeakable gift" (2 Cor. 9: 15) in Christ Jesus, "in praise of his glory" (Eph1: 12),
through the power of the Holy Spirit.
Such celebration was not merely a ritual
act, but one sacramental transformed their lives so as to live the love of God
by loving one another (Acts 2:44-47). It was this community with the
sacramental celebration as its essential mark of Christian identity that
constituted the Church, a visible reality that owed its origin to the mystery
of God becoming visible in the person of Risen Christ. The proclamation of
Jesus in his life, death and resurrection made an impact on his followers who
came together to share their faith in him.
2.2.
Easter Faith of the Apostolic Community
The Easter faith of the apostolic
community was centered on the Risen Christ and the community looked for symbols
to express its faith in him. These symbols were found already in the Jewish
rituals and assumed new meaning from the Christ event. This meaning was
gradually recognized by the Christian community. Some of the Christian rituals
were prefigured in the OT, especially those that were concerned with Baptism,
(and Confirmation) and Eucharistic assembly, all of which are explicitly
alluded to in the texts of the NT. Evangelists such as Matthew and Mark writing
to the Jewish audience of their time demonstrate how the past promises made in
the OT were fulfilled in the NT. Similarly, God's saving action that was
signified in the OT through ritual celebrations found its final and definitive
expression in the person of Risen Christ. The seven sacraments of the Church
belong to the New Dispensation and actually symbolize Jesus Christ, whereas the
sacraments in the Old Dispensation point to a future event: Jesus Christ.
When
the Church celebrates the death and resurrection of Christ, it does not simply
recall a past historical event. Rather, it celebrates the mystery of salvation
“sacramentally,” and in calling to mind the death and resurrection of Christ it
actualizes or renders present their mysterious efficacy. In the Easter vigil
Christ applies the saving power of his death and resurrection to the Church in
a privileged way, and the means by which he does this, is the very celebration
of that death and resurrection by the Church. In its content, the Easter vigil
is a commemoration of the exodus of the Old Testament people, as well as of the
death and resurrection of the Lord; it brings out the presence of the Risen
Christ in the assembly of the people the new covenant through the
sacraments.
2.3.
St. Paul’s Encountering Risen Christ
St.
Paul, who had not known the historical Jesus, but experienced Christ the Risen
One, spoke of the power of Christ's resurrection. “I want to know Christ and
the power of his resurrection and the sharing of his suffering by becoming like
him in his death, if somehow I may attain the resurrection from the dead.”
(Phil. 3:10-11).
2.4.
The Disciples Encountering Risen Christ
Peter's
experience of the merciful compassion of Jesus was an experience of deep
spiritual conversion and resurrection. Jesus asked Peter three times if Peter
loves him, each time referring to a higher type of love. Three times Peter
professed his love for Jesus but with a major change in the process because
this encounter with the Risen Christ changed Peter bragging about his own fidelity
(Jn. 13:37, Lk. 22:33, Mk. 14:29-31) to acknowledging his complete dependence
on Jesus even in his very love for Jesus. So with this new grace of the Holy
Spirit from the Risen Christ, Peter boldly proclaimed the Good News and led the
other apostles in testifying to the Risen Christ. On the evening of that first
day of the week, even though the disciples had locked the doors of the place
where they were for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood before them,
"Peace be with you," he said. (Jn. 20:19). The disciples of Jesus
were hiding for fear that they might be arrested, too. There was a guilty
feeling among them for running away and leaving Jesus alone to be captured. It
was in this context of fear and guilt that the Risen Christ appeared to them
and offered his gift of peace as he said "Peace be with you." Their
hearts were set free of guilt and fear and they felt the incredible joy of
meeting the Risen Christ who brought them reconciliation before God and among
one another. They were freed now to live empowered and sharing in his Risen
Spirit. Mary Magdalene, the two disciples on the way to Emmaus, Peter, Thomas
and the other apostles encountered the Risen Christ. They could not remain the
same after experiencing the power of the Risen Christ.
3.
The Understanding in the Tradition of the Church
3.1.
The Lord’s Day (Sunday)
The
fundamental importance of Sunday has been acknowledged during the two thousand
years of history and emphatically restated by the Second Vatican Council:
“Every seven days, the Church celebrates the Easter mystery. This is a
tradition going back to the Apostles, taking its origin from the actual day of
Christ’s resurrection – a day thus appropriately designated ‘the Lord’s day’ ”
(SC. 106). The Lord’s day brings the joy of resurrection and it is a
fulfillment.
Dies Domini
Pope John Paul II, who
left rich liturgical legacy for the Church, on the threshold of the Great
Jubilee year 200, wrote a beautiful Apostolic Letter titled Dies Domini which was published on 31st
May 1998 explaining the meaning of Sunday and calling for a renewed reflection
on this long cherished practice of the Church. John Paul II emphasizes the
community aspect of the Sunday celebration at the pastoral level. He also says,
“the day of the lord is the day of the Church. The church comes as one
community to meet the Risen Christ”. He also portrays, “For the Christian Sunday is
above all an Easter celebration, wholly illumined by the glory of the Risen
Christ. It is the festival of the “new creation””. (DD 8) “We celebrate Sunday
because of the venerable Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ” (DD 19). “The
out pouring of the Holy Spirit was the great gift of the Risen Lord to his
disciples on Easter Sunday” (DD 28).
“Sunday is the day of joy and the day of rest precisely because it is
“the Lord’s day”, the day of the Risen Lord”. (DD 82)
3.2.
Cyprian of Carthage
He
explains about encountering the Risen Christ through Baptism by saying “As soon
as the stain of my former life was washed away through baptism’s birth-giving
wave, a calm pure light filled my breast. A soon as I drank of the heavenly
spirit and was given a new manhood through a second maturity, in an amazing way
doubts began to vanish, secrets started to reveal themselves, what was dark
grew light, apparent difficulties cleared up, seeming impossibilities
disappeared. Thus his personal testimony based on his experience confirms what
is revealed in Scripture, because the Bible teaches that baptism is new life
(Jn 3:3-5). Over the course of centuries baptism had evolved from a simple
bathing, signifying washing sins and new life in Christ. It is necessary
therefore, that considering the fallen state of man
that he has to be buried from his fallen-ness so as to inaugurate his new life
of grace in his encounter with Christ. Therefore in each reception of the
sacrament of baptism, we are encountering the Risen Lord who calls us into a
deeper relationship with him. Through the Sacrament of Baptism, we are
united into the Risen Lord. [Rom. 6:3-4; Col. 2:12-3].
3.3.
St. Ignatius of Antioch
St. Ignatius of Antioch
(ca. 107) makes the Sunday celebration as a badge of identification for
Christians and a sign distinguishing them from those who follow the old order
of Sabbath. He said, “Those who used to live according to the old order of
things have attained a new hope and they observe no longer the Sabbath but
Sunday, the day on which Christ and his death raised up our life.
3.4.
Sunday Martyrs
On
12th February 304, thirty-one men and eighteen women were arrested
in Abitina (Tunisia) for unlawful assembly and they were presented before the
Proconsul Anulinus in Carthage. The unlawful gathering was the Sunday liturgy.
They are called “Martyrs of Sunday”. These martyrs of the North African town of
Abitina confessed, “We cannot live without the dominicum (Sunday Lord’s Supper). Sunday Martyrs encountered the
Risen Christ.
Conclusion
The Risen Christ enlightens us. Jesus
breaks open and interprets the scriptures. Sacramental moment is presented as a
gift “When at table Jesus took bread, said the blessing, broke it, and gave it
to them” (Luke 24:30). The Word alone was insufficient. The encounter is
completed with this gift of a sacramental gesture. Finally, the Lord vanishes,
and their future is changed as they turn around to head for Jerusalem, the
center of Christ’s saving actions. What Emmaus, and all Resurrection stories
teach us, is that encounters with the Risen One spark change. These encounters
are not limited to the days after the Resurrection but continue in the
sacramental ministry of the Church. We meet the living and risen Christ in the
sacraments. From them we are sent. “Go in peace to love and serve the Lord.”
“You have been freed from all your sin. Go in peace.” “You are no longer two
flesh but one. You are now husband and wife.” These are phrases from the
sacraments that witness to the tremendous transformative power they release.
The sacraments change us and strengthen our identity with Risen Christ. The
Eucharist is the memorial of the crucified and risen Christ, i.e. the living
and effective sign of his sacrifice, accomplished once and for all on the cross
and still operative on behalf of all humankind. The biblical idea of memorial
as applied to the Eucharist refers to this present efficacy of God's work when
it is celebrated by God's people in a liturgy.
Precious Blood Missionaries
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