Sacraments of Baptism and Eucharist - Coursework Example

Topic: Sacraments of Baptism and Eucharist Lecturer’s name Course name 21st October 2011 In what ways are the Sacraments and Ethics important for Christian discipleship? Describe how the Sacraments (particularly Baptism and Eucharist) form the foundation for Christian life/discipleship and how they are related to Christian Ethics. Introduction Different definitions have been provided regarding sacraments by different authors and theologians. Sacraments have been defined as outward signs given by Christ Jesus to give grace to humankind, signs of Christ, signs of God’s love, signs of life, signs of faith, signs of the church and signs of transformation spiritually (Mantos, 1982, p. 140)1. According to Kenan (19882 a sacrament can generally be defined as the representation of the actions of God towards humankind. The author held that sacraments go beyond the representation of God’s action towards human kind to involve the reality of God’s action and to make the actions to be felt closely by humanity. In this regard, sacraments make the love of God to be present towards humanity and they point back to and make the grace of God to be felt in the world. The church has adopted different rituals that demonstrate God’s grace towards humankind. These are symbolic activities because when they are performed the community collectively expresses what it is and what it is becoming more fully: a community of those who are saved by grace, confirmed to live in the spirit and willing to forgive. Some of the sacraments that have for a long time been adopted and practiced in the church include baptism and Eucharist. The purpose of this paper is therefore to explore how baptism and Eucharist sacraments form the foundation for Christian discipleship and how the two sacraments are related to Christian ethics. BAPTISM Baptism is one of the seven sacraments celebrated in the church. Baptism is not only an individual celebration but it is also a community celebration. This is the reason why baptism is celebrated in the Christian assembly because its significance is perceived as touching on the entire body of Christ which is the church. The church (community church members) participates in baptism by welcoming the new members and making it their responsibility to live as role models to the new members, nourishing and supporting the new members as well as affirming their willingness to journey together with the new members in order to attain the goal of eternal life as promised by Jesus Christ. Baptism is a reflection of God’s care and love which was revealed to humanity through Christ Jesus. Baptism practices in the church reflect the continuation of God’s care and love towards humanity and it is the church that advances this care and love of God in the world (Martos, p. 142)3. One of the ways through which the sacrament of baptism forms the foundation for Christian discipleship/life is that it bestows a sense of responsibility among the parents. This is because during baptism, parents are reminded that by presenting their children for baptism they accept to bring their children in Christian ways by teaching them the word of God and leading them to follow the righteous paths as demonstrated by Christ Jesus. In this regard, baptism bestows the discipleship burden on the parents and makes them live as role models to their baptised children (Robin, 2000)4. This means that the sacrament of baptism forms the foundation for Christian life and discipleship on parents as well as on their children by renewing their commitment to their faith. The second way through which the sacrament of baptism forms the foundation for Christian life is that it symbolizes a journey through which Christians must walk together and communally support each other in love. Baptism serves as an initiation into ministry and mission of Christ. It therefore serves as a reflection of the Christians to continue with their discipleship commitment through Christ (Dizdar, 2008)5. Discipleship in this context refers to the acts of living as role models to those who have not received the salvation and preaching the word of God to such people. In this regard, baptism is perceived as one of the ways through which people are strengthened to undertake discipleship roles in Christ Jesus. The third way through which baptism forms the foundation of Christian life/discipleship is that it ushers people into a new life and the baptised individual live their old self. In other words, baptism cleanses people from their sins and makes them new creatures in Christ and thus it reflects a new walk and journey in Christ Jesus. The white garment which the newly baptized are clothed with reflects a new birth and a new beginning of a spotless life. It therefore instils in the newly baptized the sense that their sins are forgiven and that they should continue with a Christian life and a Christian walk worth of emulation by those who are not baptised yet. Eucharist Eucharist is another sacrament celebrated by the church on different occasions. One of the ways through which the sacrament of Eucharist forms the foundation of Christian life/discipleship is that it symbolizes God’s love towards mankind and thus Christians are required to participate in the Eucharist as a symbol of love amongst themselves (Kenan, 1988)6 By “drinking from the same the cup” and eating “the same bread” Christians are reminded that they are part and parcel of the Christ’s body, the church, and that they should demonstrate their love towards all humanity by serving and helping others just like Jesus Christ demonstrated to them. Hence, Christians are required to emulate Christ in their lives and live a Christian life in the world by demonstrating the same kind of love that Jesus demonstrated at the cross of Calvary (Kenan, 1988)7. The Eucharist also serves as a symbol of sacrifice for humanity. In the bible (1 Corinthians 11:26) Paul taught the church that “as often as they eat the bread and the cup they proclaim the death of the Lord until he comes” (The Holy Bible, 1966)8. This means that the Eucharist serves as a reminder of the way Christians should go an extra mile in their lives to sacrifice their material items for the sake of others just as the Lord sacrificed his own life for the sake of humanity. Eucharist thus urges the Christians to particularly sacrifice themselves for the sake of the new baptised people in the flock by teaching them and living Christian lives worth of emulation by the newly baptised people. The Eucharist is also a symbol of Christians passing on to others the mantle of living a Christian life and hence it forms the foundation of Christian life. During the celebration, Christians are urged “to do this in remembrance of me” (Perrin, 1976). 9Hence, the Eucharist is not a sacrament that ends with the liturgy but it is a sacrament that must be carried forward and passed onto others. It reflects the life of Christ Jesus and how the mature Christians whose walk in Christ is worth of emulation must pass onto others the same morals and Christian practices that makes them desirable to others. Hence, by taking the Eucharist or the Holy Communion together, Christians remind themselves of the role they have towards humanity especially living as role models to others. How Baptism and Eucharist are related to Christian Ethics Firstly, the sacraments of baptism and Eucharist enable the Christians to understand that they have a religious mission that entails the commitment to serve the rest of humankind. For example, by being renewed through baptism and participating in Holy Communion, Christians are reminded that their ways should be different from the ways of those that do not participate in the two sacraments by serving humankind with honesty and faithfulness (Kenan, 1988)10. In this regard, the two sacraments admonish Christians to avoid certain practices such as corruption, dishonesty and unfaithfulness because such practices affect humankind negatively. Through baptism Christians are made to understand that such practices were buried and by rising from water they become new creatures free from the former evil practices that did not reflect the Christian walk. Secondly, the sacrament of Eucharist enables the Christians to understand that by partaking in the same bread and cup they declare their love for one another and thus they should not engage in any practice or behaviours that might impact negatively on the lives of other people (Notscher, 2001)11. This means that the Eucharist also admonishes the Christians from engaging in unworthy practices that may hinder their Christian walk. In conclusion, this paper has explored in depth the sacraments of baptism and Eucharist which are among the seven sacraments celebrated in the church. From the above discussion, it is evident that baptism and the Eucharist play an integral role because they form the foundation of a Christian life. Baptism serves as a reminder to the Christians that they are new creates because their sins are buried when they get baptised. The Eucharist serves as a reminder to the Christians that they should demonstrate love in their Christian walk just like Christ demonstrated his love for the entire of humankind. The two sacraments also admonish the Christians from reverting back to their old ways and engaging in unethical practices and behaviour that may compromise their Christian walk as well as the walk of the others that look upon them as role models. References Dizdar, D. Sheer Grace: Living the Mystery of God, New York: Paulist Press, 2008, pp13-31. Kenan, O. ‘Jesus as Primordial Sacrament’ in, Sacramental Theology: A General Introduction. New York: Paulist Press, 1988, 69-85. Martos, J. Doors to the Sacred: A Historical Introduction to Sacraments in the Catholic Church. New York: Doubleday and Co., 1982, 139-150. Notscher, F. The Role of Baptism and Eucharist in Christian Life, New York: Sage Publishers, 2001. Robin, L.‘Conclusion: Faith and Ethics (from his book, Christian Ethics: An Essential Guide. Nashville: Abingdon Press, 2000. p.121-125. Perrin, N. Jesus and the Language of the Kingdom. Philadelphia: Fortress Publication, 1976), p. 39-32. The Holy Bible. RSV. Catholic Edition. London: Thomas Nelson, 1966. Read More

Baptism practices in the church reflect the continuation of God’s care and love towards humanity and it is the church that advances this care and love of God in the world (Martos, p. 142)3. One of the ways through which the sacrament of baptism forms the foundation for Christian discipleship/life is that it bestows a sense of responsibility among the parents. This is because during baptism, parents are reminded that by presenting their children for baptism they accept to bring their children in Christian ways by teaching them the word of God and leading them to follow the righteous paths as demonstrated by Christ Jesus.

In this regard, baptism bestows the discipleship burden on the parents and makes them live as role models to their baptised children (Robin, 2000)4. This means that the sacrament of baptism forms the foundation for Christian life and discipleship on parents as well as on their children by renewing their commitment to their faith. The second way through which the sacrament of baptism forms the foundation for Christian life is that it symbolizes a journey through which Christians must walk together and communally support each other in love.

Baptism serves as an initiation into ministry and mission of Christ. It therefore serves as a reflection of the Christians to continue with their discipleship commitment through Christ (Dizdar, 2008)5. Discipleship in this context refers to the acts of living as role models to those who have not received the salvation and preaching the word of God to such people. In this regard, baptism is perceived as one of the ways through which people are strengthened to undertake discipleship roles in Christ Jesus.

The third way through which baptism forms the foundation of Christian life/discipleship is that it ushers people into a new life and the baptised individual live their old self. In other words, baptism cleanses people from their sins and makes them new creatures in Christ and thus it reflects a new walk and journey in Christ Jesus. The white garment which the newly baptized are clothed with reflects a new birth and a new beginning of a spotless life. It therefore instils in the newly baptized the sense that their sins are forgiven and that they should continue with a Christian life and a Christian walk worth of emulation by those who are not baptised yet.

Eucharist Eucharist is another sacrament celebrated by the church on different occasions. One of the ways through which the sacrament of Eucharist forms the foundation of Christian life/discipleship is that it symbolizes God’s love towards mankind and thus Christians are required to participate in the Eucharist as a symbol of love amongst themselves (Kenan, 1988)6 By “drinking from the same the cup” and eating “the same bread” Christians are reminded that they are part and parcel of the Christ’s body, the church, and that they should demonstrate their love towards all humanity by serving and helping others just like Jesus Christ demonstrated to them.

Hence, Christians are required to emulate Christ in their lives and live a Christian life in the world by demonstrating the same kind of love that Jesus demonstrated at the cross of Calvary (Kenan, 1988)7. The Eucharist also serves as a symbol of sacrifice for humanity. In the bible (1 Corinthians 11:26) Paul taught the church that “as often as they eat the bread and the cup they proclaim the death of the Lord until he comes” (The Holy Bible, 1966)8. This means that the Eucharist serves as a reminder of the way Christians should go an extra mile in their lives to sacrifice their material items for the sake of others just as the Lord sacrificed his own life for the sake of humanity.

Eucharist thus urges the Christians to particularly sacrifice themselves for the sake of the new baptised people in the flock by teaching them and living Christian lives worth of emulation by the newly baptised people. The Eucharist is also a symbol of Christians passing on to others the mantle of living a Christian life and hence it forms the foundation of Christian life.

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