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Friends United
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March/April 2007
Living the Highest Sacrament
By Keith E. Huffman
In response to an inward prompting, I quietly leave my family, don my winter outerwear and venture into the night. It has been snowing hard for the past two days, the first big snow of the season. Pine boughs, broken under the weight, litter the ground beneath the stately trees. I work for a while, trudging through deep fluff, and drag branches toward a burn pile. The peace of the night calls. I settle beneath an evergreen and rest against its trunk. Snowflakes, big as quarters, float gently out of the dark sky. It is quiet here; quiet enough to hear snowflakes come to rest. My heart is full and encouraged. Peace fills the night, and my soul.
That moment was sacramental. I suspect we’ve all had them, times when God grabbed our attention through an outward and physical experience: a beautiful sunset, the first cry of a newborn child, a star-filled night. God even uses difficulties and tragedies to garner our attention. He employs other methods too—angels, dreams and visions—but our Creator, more often than not, speaks in symphony with His creation. When He does, it is sacramental.
The word “sacrament” has an interesting origin. Prior to religious connotations, the Latin word was used in reference to an oath of loyalty, taken by soldiers to their commanding officer. The sacramentum was given as evidence of the sincerity of their pledge. Thus, sacrament was an outward sign of an inward loyalty.1
In the early 3rd century, Tertullian, the first major theologian to write in Latin, translated the Greek musterion (mystery) with sacramentum, and the word entered our religious vocabulary.2 The thought was that this outward thing, the sacrament, carries with it something unseen, or mysterious, which is received by faith. Augustine, in the 4th century, said, “They are called sacraments, because in them one thing is seen, another thing understood.”3 The definition of a sacrament as “an outward and visible sign of an inward and spiritual grace” is also attributed to Augustine.4
Over the years, theologians argued about and narrowed the definition of sacraments, and then attempted to number them. The early church recognized several mysteries and acts that could be identified as sacramental, perhaps as many as thirty. In the 12th century, the Italian theologian, Peter Lombard, summarized the sacraments into seven, still recognized by the Roman Catholic Church.5 Protestants reduced the number to two: Baptism and the Eucharist. Friends take a wholly different perspective and declare: All of life can be sacramental!
Sacrament is a method of communication, or, as Augustine put it, “a visible word.”6 This interchange goes both ways—God communicates with us, and we with him. My experience of peace on that silent, snowy night is an example of God’s sacramental conversation with me through creation. God also speaks through the sacramental acts of others. Perhaps the greatest sacramental communication from God, if we dare call it such, was the incarnation of Christ. His life, death, and resurrection made God’s love, and God himself, visible to us. Of course, this was much more than a symbolic representation. “The word became flesh and made his dwelling among us…” (John 1:14) 7
We also communicate with God through sacrament, though admittedly, it is more for our benefit than His since God already knows what is in our hearts. Singing, an outward activity, can convey inwardly felt praise. An offering, when it accurately reflects the giver’s adoration and faith, becomes much more than a contribution to help pay the meeting’s bills. It is an act of worship. Even acts of menial service can express a heart of devotion.
The purpose of sacrament is to communicate what is inward and spiritual through outward means, but this comes with a risk. There are at least two abuses of sacrament. The first is to over emphasize the symbol. A dozen roses may outwardly communicate inward affection, but if the beloved admires only the beauty of the roses, and does not think of the lover, the sacrament’s message is missed and the beloved’s adoration is misplaced. As it relates to God, misplaced adoration is idolatry! A second abuse is incongruity between inward reality and outward expression. The same dozen roses could be given as a ruse to cover the giver’s selfish motives; a loving gesture with an unloving intent! That is hypocrisy!
The goal is to live sacramentally, yet above idolatry and hypocrisy. To do this we must be attentive to the workings of God within and allow expression to flow from the inside out. This is not always easy in the clamor of the outward, but the spiritual disciplines, such as silence, worship and meditation, help us remain centered in the Spirit.
Friends have rightly emphasized inward reality over symbolic expression, especially in regard to the baptism of the Holy Spirit and daily communion with Jesus. This does not, however, negate the validity of outward expression. It simply states the proper starting point! It is natural and right for our faith to be expressed beyond inward experience, but what should it look like? Many Christians symbolize faith in the water, wine and wafer. The inner change brought about by the baptism of the Holy Spirit, however, ought to produce outward expression far beyond these symbols. Every aspect of our lives should hold a consistent reflection of the inward baptism and communion we experience. This is sacramental living.
The pre-religious usage of the word “baptism” can help us picture inner and outward transformation. The Greek root bapto, to dip, was used in reference to the dyeing of a garment.8 The purpose of dyeing cloth is obvious—a change of color. It is accomplished as the dye saturates the fibers of the cloth until they are stained with the new color.
The purpose of the baptism of the Holy Spirit is transformation of character. It is accomplished as He is allowed to saturate every fiber of our being. Spiritual baptism is inward, but we can expect the “change of color” to be outwardly manifest. Our attitudes and actions take on the hue of the character of Jesus as the Holy Spirit saturates us.
Is there a sacrament that best manifests the “hue” of Jesus’ character? The historic Friends testimonies—integrity, simplicity, equality and peace—are outworkings of inwardly held Kingdom values and convictions. As such, they are sacramental, but there is an even higher sacrament: Love! The Apostle Paul encouraged us to “put on love,” which binds all other virtues together. (Colossians 3:14) In dealing with the Galatians over the outward symbol of circumcision, he said, “The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love.” (Galatians 5:6) Love is the highest sacrament, evidence of transformation brought about by the Holy Spirit’s baptism and daily communion with Jesus!
As much as any New Testament writer, the Apostle John links inward reality with outward expression. Let’s look at three principles of living the sacrament of love, gleaned from his first epistle and his gospel:
1. Love for others is not an option. “If anyone says, ‘I love God,’ yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen. And he has given us this command: Whoever loves God must also love his brother.” (1 John 4:20-21)
2. Love must be practical. “If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth.” (1 John 3:17-18)
3. Love makes faith visible. “By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” (John 13:35)
Our love for God and love for others are inseparably linked. As that love is expressed in practical ways it reveals our discipleship to the world. This sacramental revelation is exactly what our mixed-up world needs, but it is sadly missing from much of Christendom. What many people see in the Church is contrary to the sacrament of love: arguing, judging, greed, backbiting, political maneuvering and the like. What kind of inward reality does that reveal? There is a better way.
The night before his crucifixion, Jesus prayed for his disciples and for us, his future followers. The climax of that prayer was a petition for a unity born of love:
My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one: I in them and you in me. May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me. (John 17:20–23)
Note the clear connection between unity and evangelism: “that the world may believe…” and “to let the world know…” The world waits to see something convincing from the Church. If we are serious about proclaiming the Good News of the Gospel, let us be the answer to Christ’s prayer. Now is the time to let our lives speak by living the highest sacrament…Love!
Keith Huffman pastors Long Lake Friends Church (IYM) near Traverse City, Michigan, where he has served for 11 of his 28 years in ministry among Western and Indiana Yearly Meeting Friends. Keith and his wife, Robin, have three children, Jon Michael, Jordan, and Bethany.
1 “Sacrament,” Microsoft® Encarta® Encyclopedia 2000.
© 1993-1999 Microsoft Corporation.
2 Ibid.
3 Reinhold Seeberg, The History of Doctrines in the Ancient Church.
(Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1961), p. 321-322.
4 “Sacrament,” Microsoft® Encarta® Encyclopedia 2000.
5 Eerdmans Handbook to the History of Christianity,
ed. Tim Dowley (Herts, England: Lion Publishing, 1977), p. 257.
6 Seeberg, Reinhold. The History of Doctrines in the Ancient Church,
p. 322.
7 All scripture quotes are from the Holy Bible, New International Version,
International Bible Society, 1973, 1978, 1984.
8 W. E. Vine, An Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words (New
York: Thomas Nelson Publishers,York), p. 89.