"THE THIRD SACRAMENT"

Matthew 28:16-20

I'd like to see a show of hands this morning

for a multiple choice question. 

I'll give you the options first, and then we'll vote. 

Here's the question:

The Presbyterian Church USA recognizes how many sacraments: 

Two, seven, thirty, or none of the above? 

How many think two?

Seven?

Thirty?

None of the above?

Very good! 

From just about the beginning of its life,

the Presbyterian Church has declared that we recognize two sacraments.

And those two are things that Jesus told us to "go and do:"

baptize, and celebrate the Lord's Supper.

The Roman Catholic church recognizes seven sacraments:

baptism, confirmation, communion, ordination,

marriage, confession, and extreme unction.

I think that's right!

Believe it or not, in the early church

there were at one time at least thirty things

that were considered sacraments,

including the Apostles' Creed and the Lord's Prayer. 

Well, two have served us very well so far. 

But if we Presbyterians are going to limit what we call sacraments

to the things that Jesus told us to "go and do,"

then I want to see a third one added to the list:

Christian education.

This morning's scripture passage gives us all the warrant we need.

Literally, Jesus tells his followers to go disciple all nations.

And how were they to do that? 

He gave them two ways: 

to baptize people in the name of the trinity -

that's the first "go and do."

But in the same breath, he says for the disciples

to teach them to observe all that he commanded. 

"Teaching" and "discipling" are both a "go and do!"

------

Let's back up for a minute, though

and talk about what a sacrament is, anyway.

Saint Augustine defined a sacrament

as "the visible form of invisible grace."

Sacraments to him were tangible things

that express the love and grace of an intangible God.

John Calvin put a Reformed spin on that thought hundreds of years later

when he said that we needed sacraments because of our weakness.

Because God is intangible to us,

we humans need those tangible signs to keep faithful.

Calvin would agree with the Psalmist, who said

"O taste and see that the Lord is good!" 

In the signs of bread and cup and water,

we can use all five of our senses

to know God's previously invisible grace.

And don't we use those same five senses

in Christian education? 

The wisdom shared on Sunday mornings,

the learning that takes place at youth Bible studies,

the deep friendships that are forged

in groups like the Men's Prayer Group,

all of these and more

are indeed visible forms of invisible grace: 

tangible gatherings

that express the love and grace of an intangible God.

Another thing about sacraments

is that even though they're administered by humans,

human actions are only the means, not the end. 

One of the best corrective measures that came out of the Reformation

was the idea that the effectiveness of any sacrament

did not depend on the person administering it.

We don't usually give an electrical cord all the credit

when we turn on a lamp.

The cord is just the tool

that takes the power from the source to the lamp.

When it comes to the sacraments,

the pastor is much more like the cord than the power.

I got to explain this to my niece awhile back,

and tell her

that even though she'd been baptized by the infamous Walker Railey,

she was still baptized.

What we do, or fail to do,

isn't nearly as important as what God does

through common elements and fallible humans.

For all of us,

especially those of us on this side of ordination,

that's a relief!

If this is so,

then I think we can still call education a sacrament!

Even though classes are led by men and women,

they are not led by humans alone. 

You can ask anyone who's taught in Sunday School

or Bible studies or elsewhere.

Sometimes the most well-crafted lesson plan gets ditched

because of the leading of the Spirit.

And other times, even the least well-crafted lesson,

committed to God's hands,

can turn into a life-transforming time for everyone involved.

For teachers, just as for pastors,

the effectiveness of our preparation

doesn't depend totally on our good efforts. 

That doesn't mean we shouldn't still try!

It just means that we need to remember

that the efforts of teachers and leaders

in Christian Education

are only the means, and not the end in and of themselves.

Sacraments also serve to form us in our faith,

largely by repetition and immersion in them over time.

And through that repetitious immersion,

we are not only formed as individuals

but we also become formed as a community.

Do you remember the closing scene of that movie "Places in the Heart?"

We've talked about this movie before,

and I suspect we will again.

It's the movie where Sally Field plays the young widow

trying to make it on her own

in a town full of bigotry, infidelity and small minds.

If you've never seen it,

head straight to Netflix or Blockbuster and do not pass go!

The final scene takes place

in a white frame church that looks somewhat like ours,

where communion is being served in the pews

as we sometimes do.

At first, all you notice is a typical communion service,

where trays of bread and juice are being passed down the row.

But when the camera pulls back,

you realize that the Sally Field character takes the tray from her sister,

who had just received it from the husband who had cheated on her.

Then Sally Field passes the tray on to her dead husband,

who passes it to the young black man

who had accidentally killed him,

who passes it to the Klan member

who had taken part in lynching the young man.

That's exactly what happens

when a community is formed.

Because of the constant repetition of the sacraments over time,

victims and criminals and everyone else

can gather around a common table and confess their need,

or remember their baptisms around a font.

Even and especially among the communion of saints. 

And so it is with Christian Education as well.

The constant repetition involved

in committing to be a regular part of a class or a group

is itself one of the most sacramental elements in forming community.

Those who really understand the transformation

that happens in Christian Education

understand that being "discipled"

isn't that far removed from a related word:  discipline.

Sometimes it's just the discipline

of getting yourself out of bed and out the door

that can bring you and others into a real community.

------

So what can we do to get to that point?

What difference does it make

if we look at Christian Education as a sacrament

instead of just one more obligation?

Frankly, I think that most of the work to be done

has to happen outside of the church,

at times other than Sunday morning.

In the computer world,

they call it "Garbage in, garbage out."

If you put bad data into the computer,

bad data will come out.

In order to be prepared to receive the good things

that await us in Christian Ed,

we have to input good data beforehand.

Time spent preparing your heart and mind before you leave home,

for worship as well as Sunday School

is time well spent. 

And then as you arrive on Sunday morning,

be sure to bring along an open mind and an expectant heart.

Be ready to receive what God has in store for you! 

Bob Shelton from Austin Seminary says that

"You carry away from the sacraments

only as much as you bring to them with your faith." 

And so it is with Christian Education.

If you come looking for God to be at work,

you're much more likely to see God at work!

The more prepared you are beforehand

with Christian Ed just as with baptism and communion,

the richer the experience will be.

Perhaps most important of all,

we can realize that our preparation and our participation

has a bearing not only on our own spiritual journey,

but also on the journeys of those younger than ourselves

and those yet to come.

My friend Henry Chisholm likes to say,

"If you want to know what adults think of church,

ask their children!"

Children and youth don't miss a beat.

If they perceive you to be less than enthusiastic

about the prospects of taking part in Sunday School,

then they will be less than enthusiastic themselves.

But if we can help our children and youth to catch the vision

of God's invisible grace,

then they will be infected for life. 

C.S. Lewis puts it this way.

He writes,

"There is nothing in the nature of the younger generation

which incapacitates them for receiving Christianity.

If anyone is prepared to tell them,

they are apparently ready to hear?.

None can give to another

what [one does not possess for oneself. ]"

Ellis Nelson from Austin Seminary points out

that the primary way faith is transmitted to the next generation

is through the life and worship and study of a congregation.

The whole of our life together is sacramental

in that it tells our children and youth

exactly what we believe

and where our real priorities are. 

And the more that adults are able

to make continued learning a priority,

the more that our children will be willing to do so themselves.

Believe it or not,

our lives today as children of God

are still shaped and formed

by stories the likes of Abraham and Sarah, Jacob and Esau,

and Joseph and his brothers. 

They're our stories.

But the worst way to learn stories like that is in isolation.

To be disciples of Jesus Christ,

we have to let ourselves be formed.

And to let ourselves be formed,

we have to show up //

and take part in the formative life of the community.

In the novel The Winter of our Discontent,

John Steinbeck tells the story of two men discussing why it is

that one of them keeps going back

to the worship service at the local Episcopal church.

The man says,

"Let's say that when I was a little baby,

and all my bones were soft and malleable,

I was put in a small Episcopal cruciform box

and so took my shape.

Then when I broke out of the box

the way a baby chick escapes an egg,

is it strange that I had the shape of a cross?" 

Not strange at all

to those of us who know the power of story

and community

and participation.

------

I somehow doubt

that there will be a rush to General Assembly after today

to add a third sacrament to our book of order.

But I still maintain

that Christian Education has a sacramental nature:

in the way that Jesus commanded his disciples to go and teach,

in the way that God uses visible means

to communicate invisible grace,

and in the way that we leave the meeting place

different than we were before.

Let today be the time

that you recommit yourself

to the possibility of God working in new ways in your life:

through being impacted by the old, old story

as well as by others

who can teach you and learn from you as well.

Amen.