SESSION 1 UNDERLYING PRINCIPLES CHRIST, THE CHURCH, AND WORSHIP by Emily J. Besl T he sacramental principle holds that God relates to people through people, events, art, nature, and so on. There is nothing that God cannot use to mediate God s presence to us. Anything can potentially be a means of God s presence and interaction with us. What do you think Christians would say is the ultimate, definitive way that God has been present in the world? CHRIST AS THE SACRAMENT OF GOD For Christians, the ultimate, definitive way that God has been present in the world is in Jesus Christ. Jesus shows us who God is and what God is like. Jesus, we believe, is the visible manifestation of God. This is the Christian belief in the Incarnation. Jesus Christ is the visible epiphany of the unseen God. He also is God, the Word made flesh. God, whom we cannot see, has been made visible and present in the humanity of Jesus of Nazareth. Can you see sacramental language here? We said earlier that a general way to think of sacraments, whether the seven liturgical sacraments of the Church or the sacraments of everyday life, is as a visible sign of an invisible reality. Here, Jesus is the visible sign, and the invisible reality made present and effective in his humanity is the transcendent mystery of God. In this way, Jesus Christ can be understood as the sacrament of God.
EVIDENCE FROM SCRIPTURE In John s gospel, when the disciples are listening to Jesus at the Last Supper, they ask to see the Father. Remember what Jesus says? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father (John 14:9). To see Jesus is to see God made manifest. St Paul in Colossians says of Christ: He is the image of the invisible God Col 1:15). In Hebrews we read, This Son is the reflection of the Father s glory, the exact representation of the Father s being (Heb 1:1-3). EVIDENCE FROM THE LITURGY It is not surprising that the belief that Christ has made God visible would be expressed in the prayers of the Christmas liturgy. Jesus said to him, Have I been with you for so long a time and you still do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. For example, in Preface I for the Nativity, we hear: For in the mystery of the Word made flesh a new light of your glory has shone upon the eyes of our mind, so that, as we recognize in him God made visible we may be caught up through him in love of things invisible. Do you see the connection in this text between the visible sign of the Word made flesh and the invisible reality of God? JESUS CHRIST IS THE SACRAMENT OF GOD In the twentieth century, Catholic theologians have used the language of sacrament to describe this fundamental Christian belief. Jesus, in his humanity, is the sacrament of God. He is the visible sign and presence of the invisible God. In Jesus in the way he lived and died, in the way he treated people, in what he said and taught God was made visible and present. Jesus Christ makes visible the unseen God but we no longer see Christ walking around in this world as he once did. Where can we see Christ now? THE CHURCH AS THE SACRAMENT OF CHRIST Christ is present and active in the world now through his Church. After Jesus resurrection and ascension, his saving work is continued by the community of disciples, the Christian Church. The Church community continues the mission of Christ.
Be careful not to think of the Church continuing the mission of Christ like a younger relative taking over the family business when the founder dies. In that case, the business founder is no longer present; the family member takes over and operates in place of the deceased person. That is not what we are saying here about the Church. The Church continues the mission of Christ, but not in the sense that they take over his task and represent or replace someone who is now absent. The Church, dependent on Christ, is the way Christ is made present in the world. THE BODY OF CHRIST The Church in the New Testament is called the Body of Christ; in the visible actions of the Church community it is really the invisible Christ who speaks and acts. Christ s presence and his saving work are mediated through the Church. The Church community, then, can be understood as the sacrament of Christ. Now you are Christ s body, and individually parts of it. 1 Corinthians 12:27 CHURCH AS SIGN OF CHRIST S WORK OF RECONCILIATION In his book, Liturgy Made Simple, 1 Mark Searle describes the Church as a sacrament or sign, but with a slightly different emphasis. The Church is a sign or sacrament of Christ, and especially of Christ s work of reconciliation. In the Bible, God s plan of salvation is presented in terms of reconciliation or unity. In Christ, God was reconciling the world to himself, and now the Church continues this work of reconciliation unity on a vertical dimension with God, and unity on a horizontal dimension among humanity. The Church s work is to be a sign and an instrument (a sacrament) of God's saving plan of bringing all things into one (see Eph 1:9-10). By living as a community united in love with God and with one another, the Church shows to all how God wants this world to be, and is, in the present, an anticipation of the world to come. The Catechism of the Catholic Church says: The Church is also the sacrament of the unity of the human race. In her, this unity is already begun, since she gathers men from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and tongues ; [Rev 7:9] at the same time, the Church is the sign and instrument of the full realization of the unity yet to come (CCC 775). 1 Mark Searle, Liturgy Made Simple, Collegeville, MN: The Liturgical Press, 1981. See Chapter 1.
OFFICIAL CATHOLIC TEACHING While you won t find Christ is the sacrament of God, in official Church documents, the notion of the Church as the sacrament of Christ and of God s plan of reconciliation definitely does appear in official Catholic teaching. Here are some examples from Vatican Council II. (The emphasis is added by me.) A. Dogmatic Constitution on the Church (Lumen Gentium), n. 1 By her relationship with Christ, the Church is a kind of sacrament or sign of intimate union with God, and of the unity of all humankind. She is also an instrument for the achievement of such union and unity. Here you see the traditional idea of a sacrament as both a sign (illustration, expression, manifestation), and an instrument (cause, effect, that makes something happen). Also, note that unity is both on the vertical (with God) and horizontal (with all humanity). This is another way of saying that the Church is to be a sacrament of Christ s work of reconciliation. B. Dogmatic Constitution on the Church (Lumen Gentium), n. 9 At all times and among every people, God has given welcome to whosoever fears Him and does what is right (cf. Acts 10:35). It has pleased God, however, to make people holy and save them not merely as individuals without any mutual bonds, but by making them into a single people, a people which acknowledges Him in truth and serves Him in holiness. [T]his messianic people, although it does not actually include all humanity, and may more than once look like a small flock, is nonetheless a lasting and sure seed of unity, hope, and salvation for the whole human race. Established by Christ as a fellowship of life, charity, and truth, it is also used by Him as an instrument for the redemption of all,. God has gathered together as one all those who in faith look upon Jesus as the author of salvation and the source of unity and peace, and has established them as the Church, that for each and all she may be the visible sacrament of this saving unity. Note in this passage that the Church is gathered together and established by Christ, and by God. There is a clear emphasis here on God s initiative. The Church is a sacrament not by virtue of our efforts or achievements, but by the grace of God. CALL God RESPONSE people
Again, see the emphasis on unity: the Church is to be a visible sacrament of saving unity with God in Christ. Note that the Church s mission of unity is not just for the benefit of its members. The Church is not to be a unified community so that the members can feel a sense of belonging or enjoy being part of a social group. The unity of the Church is for the benefit of the whole human race. C. Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World (Gaudium et Spes) n. 42 The union of the human family is greatly fortified and fulfilled by the unity, founded on Christ, of the family of God s children. For the promotion of unity belongs to the innermost nature of the Church, since she is, by her relationship with Christ, both a sacramental sign and an instrument of intimate union with God, and of the unity of all humanity. [quotes Lumen Gentium above] Thus she shows the world that an authentic union, social and external, results from a union of minds and hearts, namely from the faith and charity by which her own unity is unbreakably rooted in the Holy Spirit. For the force which the Church can inject into modern society consists in that faith and charity put into vital practice. Here I would again stress the idea that the unity of the Church is not just for the benefit of the members. And this unity is not just one task among many, but being one and promoting unity belongs to the innermost nature of the Church. Being united in the Body of Christ is for the sake and salvation of the world. REALITY CHECK Now, it s obvious that the Church as we know it is hardly an idyllic community united as one that always shows Christ to the world. However, that doesn t negate the teaching or the call. As one writer said, this teaching is prescriptive, not descriptive. It s what the Church is called to be, not a description of what it may be in a particular time and place.
CONNECTION WITH LITURGY The Church is the sacrament of Christ and of God s plan of reconciliation begun in Christ. It is possible to witness the Church doing Christ s work when it serves the poor, or when it proclaims God s word of mercy, or does any of its many activities. But when do we most clearly see the Church as a sacrament of Christ and reconciliation? The moment when the Church is best perceived as the sacrament of Christ and the sign of God's plan of unity for all of humanity is when an assembly of Christians gathers as one in Christ to worship God in the liturgy. LITURGY AS AN ACT OF CHRIST IN THE CHURCH All of these preliminaries are to set the foundation for an understanding of Christian liturgy. The liturgy is not merely an instrument God uses to bring salvation to individuals. The liturgy is not a service put on by the ordained minister for a passive congregation. Rather, the liturgy is an action of the assembly. The actions and words of the liturgy are performed by an assembly, but this assembly or congregation in a particular church on a particular day is a sign, a manifestation of the whole Church. In this assembly's act, the act of the Church is made visible and audible and tangible. Further, when the Church acts, it is never just the Church who is acting. Since the Church is the sacrament of Christ, Christ acts in and through the Church. So the liturgy, then, is not only an act of the Church, but also an act of Christ.
The liturgical or sacramental act of the Church is both a human act of a community, and also, at the same time, an act of Christ mediated through the Church. Christ acts through the actions of his body, the Church. In the liturgy, then, Christians encounter Christ through the Church. Further, through this liturgical encounter with Christ Christians encounter the unseen, living God. We ll see this idea of liturgy as an act of Christ and the Church in Vatican Council II s Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy, and in the Catechism of the Catholic Church. You can see it in the General Instruction of the Roman Missal. You can see it in each of the rituals for the sacraments. It s key to understanding what is occurring in Christian worship. When you see the assertion that liturgy is an act of Christ and the Church, hopefully, this theology of Christ as the sacrament of God and the Church as the sacrament of Christ will be in your mind underpinning it. Before we finish our reading for the week, let s look at one more important point about liturgy. WORSHIP AS RITUAL ACTS Since worship or liturgy is an act of the Church, it is helpful to look at the Church s worship as ritual. Anthropologists study ritual in human communities of every time and place. All human communities practice some forms of rituals, so it s not surprising that Christians do too. We can get some insight about Christian worship by exploring it as ritual. Like all human ritual, liturgy is a repetitive pattern of signs and gestures, performed by a community, that expresses and hands on who the community is (its identity) and what their fundamental beliefs are. 2 We ll look briefly here at each of these characteristics of ritual. REPETITIVE PATTERNS Rituals by nature are repetitive. The same words and actions are done over and over. Christian ritual is no different. Catholics repeat the same Mass week after week, day after day. Even within the same service there are repetitive elements, such as litanies, or the responsorial psalm. We don t have to make up a new way to baptize every time a new Christian is initiated; we rely on the ritual handed down to us. Part of the function of repetition in ritual is formation, and this is certainly true in Christian ritual. As we participate in the Mass Sunday by Sunday, as we observe Lent or celebrate the Easter Triduum, we rehearse our faith and faith is deepened in us. The repetitive nature of the liturgy makes us into who we are called to be. Doing the liturgy together over time shapes us into the Church and into followers of Christ. 2 Robert Taft, S.J. Thanksgiving for the Light, Beyond East and West, Washington, DC: The Pastoral Press, 1984, p. 127.
SYMBOLIC ACTION Ritual uses signs and gestures and symbols. Ritual is itself a symbolic activity, and also uses symbols within it. Like any human ritual, the liturgy is a symbolic action. Why? Is it an attempt to be mysterious? An effort to be beautiful? Liturgy is a symbolic action because of the sacramental principle. God relates to us through perceptible signs which show and bring about an encounter with the divine. Since we finite, limited creatures cannot relate to God directly, God interacts with us through people, places, words, objects, music the ritual of the liturgy. ACTS OF A COMMUNITY Rituals are always actions of a community. Sometimes people use the word ritual to refer to any repetitious pattern, such as my morning ritual being the habitual things I do at the start of each day. But these are better described as routine. Individuals may have customary personal ways of doing things, but this is different from ritual. How so? One reason is that, although repetitious, routines are usually not symbolic. Another reason is that routines belong to an individual, while rituals are acts of a community. All kinds of human communities practice rituals. Universities have commencements, towns have July 4 th parades, school days begin with the pledge of allegiance. Families use ritual especially to observe holidays or other special occasions. Christian liturgy is always an act of the Church, not of individuals; it is done by an assembly gathered to worship God. FUNDAMENTAL BELIEFS Ritual forms community by passing on to new members or to the young the values and beliefs of this community. It reinforces current members in the community s deepest beliefs. As we sing hymns, as we share the sign of peace, as we make the sign of the cross, our faith in Christ is both expressed and deepened. Ritual also places the community in contact with its origins, with our past that made us what we are, as Robert Taft says. 3 For Christians, the past foundational event that has made us what we are is the paschal mystery, the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. This is the 3 Ibid
basis for our existence as a Church. It is also our central belief God has offered salvation by the death and resurrection of Christ. PASCHAL MYSTERY In the paschal mystery, God the Father first loves Christ the Son. In response to that love, Christ loves the Father in return and entrusts his life in self-surrender to God, even to the point of death. But God reaches out again in love, and raises Jesus from the dead. God the Father 1) God 2) Jesus loves, loves trusts, gives Jesus self to God, esp. on cross Jesus God the Father We can use our call-and-response diagram to picture the relationship between God the Father and Jesus in the paschal mystery. God the Father takes initiative in loving the Son (1). Jesus responds in self-giving love, which characterizes his life and especially his death on the cross (2). In another act of generous self-giving love, God the Father raises Jesus to new life (3). 3) God raises Jesus Jesus Often, people speak of the resurrection as something Jesus did: Jesus rose from the dead. This is true, but in the New Testament, the resurrection is more often preached as an act of God: God raised Jesus. DRAWN INTO THE RELATIONSHIP OF CHRIST AND GOD 4 Remember the reading we did from Himes? Himes said the least wrong way to talk about the mystery of God is pure self-gift. The Holy Trinity is a relationship of self-giving love among persons. Can you make the connection between Himes point and the call-andresponse arrows? Can you use all of that to think about the paschal mystery? We haven t mention the Holy Spirit yet. For now, think of the Holy Spirit as God s love bestowed upon us, to draw us into this exchange of self-giving love. In the liturgy, it is by the power of the Holy Spirit that Christ draws us into his relationship with the Father. The liturgy trains us, by repeated ritual symbolic actions, to relate to God as Christ did, with generous self-giving and profound trust in God s faithful love. We do this in liturgy, so that we can do it in our lives. 4 The picture is an example of the Throne of Mercy, a portrayal of the Trinity popular in the Early Middle Ages. God the Father is seated, holding in his lap his beloved Son, with the Spirit above.
PASCHAL MYSTERY THE HEART OF EVERY LITURGY In every liturgy whether keeping a feast or praying vespers, whether offering the Eucharistic Prayer or baptizing a baby, whether singing a psalm or listening to a Scripture reading Christ s saving paschal mystery is remembered and made present. Again, this is not due to our efforts, but because the liturgy is an act of Christ. Every form of Christian liturgical ritual has at its heart the celebration of the paschal mystery of Jesus Christ. CONCLUSION The theological notions of the sacramental principle, of Christ as the sacrament of God, and of the Church as the sacrament of Christ, form a foundation for understanding liturgy as an act of Christ and the Church. Liturgy Church Christ God Liturgy is a ritual performed by a Christian assembly. On a human level, it does what other human rituals do. On a theological level, this human act of an assembly is also an act of the Church, the Church all over the world and over time. Since the Church is the sacrament of Christ, the human ritual act of the Church signifies and makes present the act of Christ, especially his paschal mystery. Through Christ, the sacrament of God, Christians in the liturgy encounter the mystery of God. God Christ Church Liturgy Going the other direction: The unseen God was made visible in Jesus Christ. Christ is now visible in the Church. The Church is made manifest in the liturgical assembly, as it carries out its ritual worship in the liturgy. Emily J. Besl 2016