“Sacred Moments for Believers”

Scripture: John 1:14-16; Acts 20:32; 2 Timothy 3:14-17

For the past 3 months, we’ve been considering various aspects of our faith as described in the Nicene Creed. We looked at our core beliefs, how they inform us about God and his working in our lives, and what that means for our response to the salvation that we are offered.
Today, we begin a much shorter series that is about one of those responses – that of our participation in the sacraments. United Methodist sacraments include two gifts – the Lord’s Supper, or Holy Communion, and baptism. But the sacraments are part of a greater category of faith expression known as “sacred moments”. These are those times when we specifically and specially experience God’s presence and grace. These are those times when we not only celebrate the event, but also celebrate the Lord in a unique way. These are those times when, by faith in Jesus Christ, we feel the hope and joy and blessing that can only come from God.

These times are, quite simply, God’s grace in action. And it all began when the Lord not only came into our lives, but when he came to the world as Jesus for all of humanity.

Read John 1:14-16

Israel had always struggled with what it meant to have a relationship with their great God Jehovah. They would commit to service in the name of Yahweh, but could never quite follow through in that commitment. (Joshua 24:14-25) During their time in exodus from Egypt, they never seemed to be happy. They even thought that slavery in Egypt was preferable to the promise of a new land and new life with their Lord, that abject subservience to a pagan king was a better option than allegiance and obedience to their loving God. They just didn’t understand what he was all about, and how his desire for their lives would be generous, and not oppressive. And some things never seem to change!

So God would come to earth to reveal his love and grace to an undeserving people. And just so they wouldn’t be frightened away from him, the Lord would appear in a form that they would be comfortable with. Grace usually comes to us in ways we can recognize, even though we can’t quite explain it. And the blessings that it brings are amazing.

The New Interpreters’ Bible tells us “At the heart of the incarnation ... is the reality that the glory [of God] is, indeed, revealed in the [humanity] of Jesus". And the reality of grace is revealed in those “sacred moments” that sometimes seem so common and natural that we can almost miss the Lord’s presence if we aren’t watching for him. And the reference in our text to “grace in place of grace already given” does not imply a replacement of divine grace, but simply an addition to what we have already received. God’s grace has been part of humanity’s existence from the first moment of creation, and the coming of Jesus into our lives is proof that the Lord’s love for us is neverending!

And while this addition to grace is not a new version of divine grace, it is God’s way of showing that the Law of Moses is not all that it’s cracked up to be. If the grace of Christ replaces anything, it’s our dependence on the law and good works to achieve “righteousness” for our lives.

Read Acts 20:32

Paul sees the purpose of Godly grace as a way – a means – of building up all who believe in Christ Jesus. This “building up” is not in a human way of course, but in a spiritual sense, in spiritual growth. This grace is also a revealing of God and his goodness in our life, which Paul tells us is not just a gift, but an inheritance. Gifts can be given to anyone, but inheritance is given to family and loved ones.

But the blessing of “family” comes with a purpose – a mutual purpose that must benefit all parties. Family also brings with it an obligation to remain close and connected. And in that, the Lord sent his Son to close and strengthen our connection with him, and when Christ returned home, the Holy Spirit was sent to be our perpetual reminder of Godly love and presence. And our place in this connection? It is to acknowledge, and appreciate, and celebrate the Lord’s blessings that comes to us every day.

And we achieve that recognition and celebration through our intentional looking for, and expectation that God will be in those “sacred moments” of our life. And what might some of these moments be?

It comes in those times when:
- we consciously admit that we have failed God, that we have sinned, and in those times when we turn back to the Lord’s ways.
- we rejoice in the relationships that the Lord blesses and establishes on our behalf. One of those connections is in marriage. This is one of those unique and special blessings. But the Lord also grants us friendships that extend above and beyond our other acquaintances. Whether in marriage, or in singleness, or in other bonds that we have in friendship, God is glorified when we credit him as the source of our joy, and when we grow those relationships in his way.
- we turn to him in our times of trial and struggle, and seek his resolution and healing for our lives. When we demonstrate our trust and need for his grace, this, too, becomes a sacred time for us.
- we submit to the Lord’s plan for our lives, such as our commitment to the church in membership, and service, and ministry.
- we celebrate the Lord through the sacraments. In baptism, we acknowledge God as the only valid power and presence for our life, and in communion, we rejoice in Christ’s surrender, for our benefit, to the hatred and self-centered ways of earth. In baptism, we submit our repentant hearts, and in communion, we confirm and conform to the Lord’s offer of eternal life.

When we submit our lives to God, when we entrust our hope to his grace, when we place our trust in his plan for our life and salvation, grace and joy abound.

Read 2 Timothy 3:14-17

At first, Paul is encouraging his friend Timothy to persevere in his faith and in all that he has learned from the teachings of Jesus Christ. He is reminding this new pastor that if he is to be effective in ministry, if he is to be true to all that Jesus is, he must pay close attention to everything that he does and proclaims, and to never deviate from the truth of God. He is saying that the word of God comes to us by God’s grace and not by our means, and that it is worthy of our commitment. And even more than that, we are to know that effectiveness in our witness and ministry to the world is dependent on whether we have a servant’s heart or not.

A servant is obedient to, and reliant on their master. Grace is a gift freely given without expectation, but a relationship requires effort. The Lord wants relationship with us, he wants to know that we appreciate his gifts and his grace, he wants us to trust him enough that we too want the same things that he wants for us. Relationship must become an active verb in our life if we want to continue to know his grace.

And this comes in our celebrating the Lord in all that we do, and especially in those times that are of sacred worth. Relationship grows in those times when we take those risky and difficult steps to grow closer, and to live closer, to the Lord’s ways and teaching. We must always be prepared to see God at work whenever we worship, or pray, or serve, or rejoice his goodness. And the sacraments are those very special times when the Lord and we truly come close together, by his grace and through the work of the Holy Spirit.

For the next two weeks, we will be considering the power and purpose of both Communion and Baptism, and why they are not only important for our lives, but why they make sense in our relationship with our Almighty God and Savior.