According to Martin Luther's definition, a sacrament is that which is:
- Commanded by Christ;
- A promise of grace, and;
- Accompanied by an earthly element.
By this definition, only two commands by Christ fit this description: baptism and communion. In both cases the word of promise that is delivered is the forgiveness of sins.
Of the seven sacraments instituted by the Catholic church, Luther rejected all but these two as true sacraments, given that the rest were either something that was not commanded by Christ (for instance, one does not have to get married, nor does one have to become ordained into the ministry in order to proclaim and profess Christianity) nor did they necessarily have the physical element that coincided (such as confession).
Admittedly, Luther was a bit more hesitant to throw confession aside as he did see confession/repentance as commands made by Christ that should be practiced by every Christian. Thus, in most Lutheran churches, both public and silent confessions of sin are made prior to the distribution of the sacrament of the Lord's Supper.
Why Are Sacraments Important?
Sacraments are God's way of using the "ordinary" to deliver something extraordinary. While it's true that God speaks and can be encountered in a variety of ways, the sacraments provide humans with a tangible and real way in which one can know they have been forgiven and, especially in the case of communion, can literally "internalize" God's Word.
Sacraments are, in essence, a continued proclamation of God's grace and love to the sinner. Whenever one is baptized into Christ, the proclamation of adoption into God's family and the forgiveness of sins is declared not only to the recipient, but to the hearers who are present as well. The ritual "act" of baptism physically delivers this promise and gives one a tangible element onto which they can point to and cling.
Likewise, when communion is distributed, the forgiveness of sins is both proclaimed (1 Corinthians 11:26) and physically delivered to the recipient.
This act of "internalizing" God's Word by eating and drinking is not something new introduced by Jesus, but has a tradition throughout scripture. Ezekiel "eats" a scroll (Ezekiel 3:1) to signify how God's word is actually taken in, internalized and proclaimed. Isaiah 55 states, "Listen, listen to me and eat what is good and your soul will delight in the richest of fare."
The "Real Presence" in the Lord's Supper
The Lutheran understanding of what is happening in communion is rather unique. Most protestant traditions view communion as a mere "sign" that points to something else. It is a symbol of "remembrance," not the act itself that does anything. By contrast, in Catholic understanding, the bread and the wine actually physically change into the body and blood of Christ and is so sacred, that to drop bread or wine on the floor is equated with dropping Christ himself on the floor.
Luther, however, diverges from both these understandings. He viewed the Catholic understanding as problematic because when you eat and drink, it still looks and tastes like bread and still looks and tastes like wine. Hence, it must still be bread and wine. However, Luther was not willing to say it was a mere symbol, either, and believed that Christ was spiritually present in and with the bread and the wine when the words of forgiveness (Matthew 26:28) were spoken and delivered alongside the distribution of the elements.
Luther's understanding seems to parallel Paul's understanding that something spiritual was going on within the ingesting of the bread and wine, and not just something symbolic. First, Paul recognized it was a "participation in the blood...[and] body of Christ," (1 Corinthians 10:16) which suggests an active event that is occurring in the here and now, and not just remembering something that had happened in the past.
Second, it made people sick if they were ingesting the supper without the proper spiritual preparation. (1 Corinthians 11:30) Were the supper merely symbolic, it should have no spiritual repercussions if done "improperly."
The Use of Earthly Elements
Why is simply preaching the word not sufficient? Why are sacraments needed? Well, it's not for God's sake - but for humans. Human beings need "things" that are tangible and real to hold onto. The sacramental elements of wine, bread and water give people these real and tangible ways in which they can grasp hold of the promises of God.
Related Reading
Readers seeking to learn more on baptism may enjoy Why Lutherans Baptize Babies.
Sources:
- Martin Luther, "Defense of the Augsburg Confession, Article XIII," Book of Concord
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