On two weekends in January, we (GMC Board of Ministry members) interviewed candidates for ministry in the Alabama Emerald Coast Conference. We had some great conversations about ministry, life, and presenting Jesus in the context of Wesleyan Theology. Some foundational parts of that theology are things like 1) Jesus wants all to be saved, 2) all CAN be saved, 3) all can know they are saved, and 4) all can become sanctified to the point they are, as Wesley called it, "saved to the the uttermost," meaning they approach life in, through, and with the love of Jesus. Another part of Wesleyan theology is the reverence, meaning, and foundation of our sacraments. One specific question seemed to be difficult for many of the candidates. We asked, "What makes these sacraments (Baptism and Communion) sacred?" We generally got the answer, "Because Jesus prescribed them." While this is true ... that Jesus prescribed and participated in these sacraments with the disciples ... it lacks the completeness of the truth from a Wesleyan perspective. So ... here goes with a little Wesleyan theology, and a lot of what is missing in the American church.
Wesley believed, and practiced, a very Jesus-centered view of the sacraments, and a Jesus-centered view of how God's grace is conveyed to us in everyday life. That "Wesleyan Way" is described to us as "Presence." We just left the Advent/Christmas season. We used a word during that time called Emmanuel ... "God with us." At the end of Jesus' ministry in Matthew 28, Jesus said something to us about this ... "I will be with you, even unto the ends of the earth (Matthew 28:20)." Jesus' story in the Gospels described this presence in every event.
John begins telling this story of Jesus' presence, by describing Jesus as a pathway, gateway, and stairway between heaven and earth. In John 1:51, John describes Jesus as "the one who is the stairway between heaven and earth." I could call this a clue to Wesley's theology of the sacraments. But it is WAY more overt than a clue. John says Jesus IS the connection between heaven and earth. When Jesus is with us and in us, as we participate in one of these sacraments, we are in vertical connection with God (through John's stairway) and in horizontal connection with Jesus and the Church (the people) because he is with/in us. Did you get it ... "on earth as it is in heaven?" Do you get that the reasons our sacraments are "sacred" are not:
1. Jesus prescribed them;
2. They are symbols of what Jesus did in Scripture;
3. They are just a "sign."
The reason they are sacred is that Jesus is present ... the Holy Spirit is with us, in the present. It is the only way for us to be wholly in the Spirit and Truth Jesus describes to the Samaritan woman in John 4.
Why is this understanding important? Because to have the power of God and the Spirit, we must have the presence of God and the Spirit. One of many "telling" passages about this happens in the early Church. In Acts 19, seven sons of Sceva try to "invoke" the power of Jesus by casting out a demon. The demon responds ... "I know Jesus, and I know of Paul, but who are you?" We, the Church, cannot be known for going through the motions of being the church. We can be thoroughly connected to amazing music, beautiful sanctuaries, powerful/eloquent speakers, aesthetic surroundings, and everything that is attractive to the people of our society. But, when we "get down to business" (the title of my message a few weeks back) we had better be willing to shed all of those things.
I know a young woman ... a friend. She has had trial after trial. We have been called upon to be her prayer warriors, her support system, and an expression of a faith she is counting on. We have moved from the sidelines into the game. We have gone from the admin tent to the front lines. How will the demons of infirmity see us? Will we approach with the signs and wonders of our trappings ... eloquent prayers, appealing songs, stunning sanctuaries, and attractional theology? Or, will we embrace our friend, cover her with prayers, and allow the presence and person of Jesus to flow from us into her broken body? Will we understand that the presence of Jesus, in this grace we express and give away, is all we have to offer? "Surely, the presence, of the Lord is in this place ... I can feel His mighty power, and His grace. I can feel the brush of angel's wings, I see glory on each face. Surely, the presence of the Lord is in this place!" Pray in Jesus, the son of the Living God ... and the very gates of hell will not prevail against us! AMEN
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