The current revival and increased
appreciation of the sacraments within “Mainline” Protestantism offers the
disciples of the Reformation with a great opportunity for liturgical
recovery. While a renascence has been
taking place for some decades, often distracted by “political” and
“liturgically correct” elements, Methodists remain in a unique position to
advance their understanding and recover a rich, sacramental heritage. While on one hand, the rearticulation of a
Wesleyan concept of grace has forced Methodists to seek a reinvigoration of the
role of grace in the all aspects of spiritual life; the increased emphasis on
liturgical renewal and the evangelical witness within Methodism in recent years
has also encouraged a more thorough appraisal of the role of grace in the
sacraments. In essence, contemporary
Methodists are faced with a healthy conundrum: confronting the primacy of the
concept of grace in their theology one hand; and, and applying this overarching
theological consideration to an understanding of the sacraments of baptism and
the Lord's Supper on the other. This essay
will be devoted to an examination of the role of grace as an instrument and
symbol of the actual work of God as it relates to the Lord's Supper. A concentrated effort will be made to
assimilate the insight of primary sources, namely John Wesley's Sermons,
John and Charles Wesley's Hymns on the Lord's Supper, Dean Brevint's Christian
Sacrament and Sacrifice, as well as the scholarship of several important
modern commentators. We shall consider
the relationship of grace to the sacraments; then proceed to the significance
of the Lord's Supper as a means of grace and its association to the other collaborative
means and attempt to suggest the more comprehensive attributes of the Lord's
Supper as a means of grace.
The
Centrality of Grace and the Lord's Supper
While the characteristics of the
Wesleys' concept of divine grace are multifaceted, the position of grace as the
genuine and essential act of God's perfect love for humankind can inform our
inquiry. Humans are in a rather hopeless
situation, removed from an intimate relation with God due to human sin. As we begin to acknowledge the limitations of
our condition, usually at a point where we are experiencing "the sleep of
death, the weights of...a burden (sin) too heavy to be borne," we can
appreciate the inner working of God's grace.[1] H. Orton Wiley, a noted Wesleyan scholar,
suggests humankind's inability is so complete that only God can save them;[2] this
does at least allow for a response, which would prove untenable for orthodox
Calvinism who place such emphasis on total depravity. The Wesleyan concept of grace requires a
response that is antithetical to "indolent inactivity."[3] In God's grace we find the hope that brings
order to our lives. Without such a
concept of grace, "the cosmos itself would fly into disarray and
chaos."[4] This grace can operate in a variety of forms,
but it always assumes the sign of God's love of humanity. Charles Wesley's sudden movement within his
corpus of eucharistic hymns from "pardoning grace" to the "life
of grace" suggests the importance of the concept to an accurate
articulation of the tenets of Wesleyan sacramental theology:
Thou
our faithful hearts prepare,Thou Thy pardoning grace declare;Thou that hast for
sinners died, Show Thyself the Crucified. (34:3)[5]
The
concept quickly assumes a "double" quality and grace becomes the
personification of the perfect love of the divine:
Worthy
the Lamb of endless praise, Whose double life we here shall prove, The
pardoning and the hallowing grace, The dawning of and the perfect love (38:1)[6]
The
elongation of a concept of grace as an extended relationship with God over the
course of lifetime of devotion, connected with an eschatological element
becomes part of the evolution of the notion, especially within the context of
the Lord's Supper:
Our
life of grace we here shall feel, Shed in our loving hearts abroad, Till Christ
our glorious life reveal, Long hidden with Himself in God (38:4).
Such
a full appreciation of divine grace was essential to the life of the
believer. As Colin Williams suggests,
John Wesley remained a devotee of the Protestant notion of salvation by faith
through God's grace alone, although he also articulated the limits of
"cheap grace"[7] as it
was associated with Luther.[8] Grace, as with the Lord's Supper, had a
vibrancy associated with it that could not be excluded.
The Book of Discipline of the
United Methodist Church begins with an unequivocal presentation of the
centrality of the importance of the theological understanding of grace to the
Methodist tradition: "Grace pervades our understanding of the Christian
faith and life."[9] Grace is at the core of our theological
enterprise and our appreciation of the sacraments.
The formal means of grace serve as
mediums of presenting, confirming and defining our devotion to Christ:
By
'means of grace,' I understand outward signs, words, or actions, ordained of God,
and appointed for this end, to be the ordinary channels whereby He might convey
to men, preventing, justifying, or sanctifying grace.[10]
By
naming these essential habits in such a way, the Wesleys have sided with the
general trend of the Reformation to avoid describing the elements as
"marks." The "means"
are to serve as an external sign of an interior grace and assume either a
instituted or prudential form. Among the
instituted means, prayer assumes the pre-eminent position, described as the
"chief" source.[11] Within the same context, the Wesleys detail
the use of scripture and the Lord's supper, possibly suggesting a special
status for these means as compared to fasting and Christian conference that are
mentioned at a later point. The initial
three are summarized as the ordinary means.
The three prudential means of "doing no harm, by avoiding
evil," "doing good of every possible sort," and following the
rules of the societies (small discipleship groups) and participating actively
in the gatherings.[12]
As a means of grace, the sacraments,
with special emphasis on the Lord's Supper, also serve as the basis for
identifying the Church in the world. For Calvin, it was to be found:
Wherever
we see the Word of God purely preached and heard, and the sacraments administered
according to Christ's institution...[13]
Wesley
obviously accepts this in a rather complete form when he presents his version:
The
visible Church of Christ is a congregation...in which the pure word of God is
preached, and the sacraments be duly administrated[14]
The
sacraments as a means of grace are intimately woven into the life of the Church
and serve as one of the foundations of its existence. At the center of one's devotion to God as
exhibited by participation in the means of grace was the Lord's s Supper, which
was one of the more easily repeatable acts.
It is the special position of the Lord's Supper as a peerless spiritual
and theological means that merits special consideration of its importance.
The
Lord's Supper as a Special Means of Grace
Of the means of grace, the Lord's
Supper is one of few the Wesleys' reserve to separate and elaborate upon in the
course of either a sermon or treatise or series of hymns. This obviously suggests the exceptional importance
of the Lord's Supper as a means of grace and as a central act of Christian
worship for Methodism. But the Wesleys affirm
the Lord's Supper as a central teachings and practice of the Christian
life. For the communicant, they
encourage an examination of the appropriate descriptions of the sacrament in
the Gospels and First Corinthians, as well as the proper preparation for
receiving the sacrament. Both are, of
course, operating under the assumption that the individuals who come to the
table are already baptized; however, the proper preparation must always be part
of the process of sharing in the Lord's Supper.
The Lord's Supper, more than the
other forms of the means, requires an integration of the other means of
grace. Before one can adequately receive
the bread and wine, they must prepare by "self-examination and
prayer."[15] This process allow for the "full purpose
of the heart" by keeping the commandments and allowing for an openness to
the work of God in one's life at all times.
For the Wesleys, the Lord's Supper served as a linchpin of the means of
grace; it allowed for all the disciplines necessary for the Godly to come
together and complement each other. In
terms of the devotional life, the Lord's Supper served as the anamnetic
grounding for every other activity. This
eucharistic hymn presents an evocative affirmation of this sentiment:
Glory to Him who freely spent
His blood, that we might live,
And through this choicest
instrument
Doth all His Blessing Give
Fasting He doth, and hearing
bless
And prayer can much avail,
Good vessels all to draw the
grace
Out of salvation's well
But none, like this mysterious
rite
Which dying mercy gave
Can draw for all the promised
might
The Wesleys’ comprehensive view of
the spirituality associated with the Lord's Supper demanded a great deal of
effort on the part of the participants, but the reward was also great; decadent
humanity could be renewed and the renewal experienced from such devout
participation would empower the people of God.[17] The Lord's Supper must also be considered as
an extraordinary amalgam of theological insight that also serves to unify the
other means of grace. Brevint argued the
Lord's Supper was an additional contribution to the preached word of God:
"The end of the Holy Communion...is to make us partakers of Christ in
another manner than when we only hear the word."[18] The
Wesleys incorporated this insight and affirmed a strong sacramental doctrine as
well an powerful doctrine of the Word. The mutual compatibility of the two
means of grace was important to the Wesleys' understanding of normative worship
practices and deserves the attention of contemporary leaders of worship.
The holy meal was not only an
combination of the means of grace, but it was the inner source of
communication. The late Bishop Borgen
defends this notion of communication as an active process to perpetuate the
active characteristic of Christ's power and love for His children.[19] The communication Wesley describes by quoting
the language of the Book of Common Prayer: "'The cup of blessing
which we bless, is it not the communion,' or communication, 'of the blood of Christ?'[20] It allows the participant to share in a
special mode of communication with the Lord.
A special circumstance is presented "wherein God entertains Man as
his own Table."[21] The essential elements of salvation can now
be appreciated regardless of the chaos of earthly existence. The sacrifice of Christ and our daily
sacrifice for Him affords a new, more enlightened understanding. The Lord's Supper can now be seen as Wesley
describes it in his revision[22] of the
Article XXVIII of the Augsburg Confession as: "(the) sacrament of
redemption," and as the authentic presentation of our Lord.[23]
We can now assert that the pivotal
position of the Lord's Supper within Wesley's presentation of the means of
grace serves to unify the potentially divergent threads of Wesleyan devotional
life. It provides the theological as
well as ecclesical harmony needed to promote the Kingdom of God. It encompasses the needs of a sinful humanity
and a loving God. As Bishop Borgen
suggests: "God's purpose, man's need, and the support of Scripture stand
behind Wesley's doctrine of the Lord's Supper as a means of grace."[24] The sharing at the table, ultimately reminds
the communicant of the hope in Christ and of the possibility of healing the
wounds of earthly existence:
The promis'd Grace vouchsafe to
give
As each is able to receive,
The blessed Grief to All impart
Selected Bibliography
The
Book of Discipline of the United Methodist Church, 1992.
Nashville: The United Methodist Publishing House, 1992.
Borgen,
Ole E. John Wesley on the Sacraments.
Grand Rapids, Michigan: Francis Asbury Press, 1985.
Dieter,
Melvin E. and Daniel N. Berg. The Church. Anderson, Indiana: Warner Press, 1984.
Carter,
Charles. A Contemporary Wesleyan
Theology. Grand Rapids: Francis Asbury Press, 1983.
Collins,
Kenneth J. Wesley on Salvation: A
Study in the Standard Sermons. Grand
Rapids: Francis Asbury Press, 1989.
Hinson,
William H. The Power of Holy Habits: A Discipline for Faithful Discipleship.
Nashville: Abingdon, 1991.
Kinghorn,
Kenneth Cain. The Gospel of Grace: The Way of Salvation in the Wesleyan
Tradition. Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1992.
Lawson,
John. The Wesley Hymns. Grand Rapids: Francis Asbury Press, 1987.
Lindstrom,
Harold. Wesley and Santification.
Grand Rapids: Francis Asbury Press, 1980.
Marquardt,
Manfred. John Wesley's Social Ethic:
Praxis and Principles. Nashville:
Abingdon Press, 1992.
Oden,
Thomas C. After Modernity...What?
Agenda For Theology. Grand Rapids:
Zondervan Publishing House, 1990.
--------------. Doctrinal Standards in the Wesleyan
Tradition Grand Rapids: Francis Asbury Press, 1988.
Outler,
Albert C. The Works of John Wesley,
Volumes One to Four: Sermons.
Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1985.
Rattenbury,
J. Earnest. The Eucharistic Hymns of
John and Charles Wesley. Cleveland: Order of Saint Luke Publications, 1990.
Sugden,
Edward. Editor. John Wesley's Fifty-Three Sermons. Nashville: Abingdon,
1983.
Williams,
Colin. John Wesley's Theology Today.
Nashville: Abingdon, 1960.
[1]Edward Sugden,
editor, John Wesley's Fifty-Three Sermons (Nashville: Abington, 1983),
p. 170.
[2]As quoted in
Charles Carter, editor, A Contemporary Wesleyan Theology (Grand Rapids:
Francis Asbury Press, 1983), p. 485.
[3]Sugden, Ibid. p.
170.
[4]Kenneth Cain
Kinghorn, The Gospel of Grace: The Way of Salvation in the Wesleyan
Tradition (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1992), p. 61.
[5]J. Earnest
Rattenbury, The Euchararistic Hymns of John and Charles Wesley
(Cleveland: Order of Saint Luke Publications, 1990), H-12.
[6]Ibid, p. H-13.
[7]This is actually
a term borrowed from Dietrich Bonhoeffer, The Cost of Discipleship (New
York: Macmillan, 1951), p. 1.
[8]Colin Williams, John
Wesley's Theology Today (Nashville: Abingdon, 1960), p. 69.
[9]The Book of
Discipline of the United Methodist Church, 1992 (Nashville: The
United Methodist Publishing House, 1992) p. 44.
[10]Sugden, Ibid.,
p. 171.
[11]Ibid. This is a contestable point. Several of the eucharistic hymns suggest the
Lord's Supper is the primary act of the spiritual life (see footnote 17 and
cited text).
[12]Albert C.
Outler, John Wesley (New York: Oxford University Press, 1964), p.
178-179. This is from Wesley's
"Rules" of 1739. In this list
the Lord's Supper follows public worship and the ministry of the word.
[13]John Calvin, Institutes,
edited by John T. McNeill, translated by Ford Lewis Battles, in the Library of
Christian Classics, volumes XX and XXI (Philadelphia: The Westminster Press,
1960), p. 1023.
[14]John Wesley,
"Of the Church," The Works of John Wesley, Volume 5 (Kansas
City: Nazarene Publishing House), p. 396, as quoted in Melvin E. Dieter and
Daniel N. Berg, The Church (Anderson, Indiana: Warner Press, 1984), p.
330.
[15]Outler, Ibid.,
p. 337.
[16]Rattenbury, Ibid.,
p. H-14.
[17]I am borrowing
at this juncture from Manfred Marquardt's depiction of Wesley in his John
Wesley's Social Ethic: Praxis and Principles (Nashville: Abingdon Press,
1992), pp. 96-101.
[18]Rattenbury, Ibid.,
p, 151.
[19]Ole Borgen, John
Wesley on the Sacaments (Grand
Rapids, Michigan: Francis Asbury Press, 1985), p, 184.
[20]Sugden, Ibid.,
p. 178.
[22]As Thomas Oden
suggests, Wesley amends the Anglican Thirty-nine articles to suit his purposes
[Doctrinal Standards in the Wesleyan Tradition (Grand Rapids, Michigan:
Francis Asbury Press, 1988), p. 111.].
[23]Ibid., p. 121.
[24]Borgen, Ibid.,
p. 184.
