The Lord's Supper as a Means of Grace: A Weary Methodist’s Perspective
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.Thou our faithful hearts prepare,Thou Thy pardoning grace declare;Thou that hast for sinners died, Show Thyself the Crucified. (34:3)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)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" 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." 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.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. 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...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 administratedThe 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."Glory to Him who freely spentHis blood, that we might live,And through this choicest instrumentDoth all His Blessing Give
Fasting He doth, and hearing blessAnd prayer can much avail,Good vessels all to draw the graceOut of salvation's well
But none, like this mysterious riteWhich dying mercy gaveCan draw for all the promised mightAnd all His will to save (42). 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. 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. 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."The promis'd Grace vouchsafe to give As each is able to receive, The blessed Grief to All impartOr joy; or Purity of Heart (76:2)
Selected BibliographyThe 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.
Edward Sugden, editor, John Wesley's Fifty-Three Sermons (Nashville: Abington, 1983), p. 170.As quoted in Charles Carter, editor, A Contemporary Wesleyan Theology (Grand Rapids: Francis Asbury Press, 1983), p. 485. Sugden, Ibid. p. 170. Kenneth Cain Kinghorn, The Gospel of Grace: The Way of Salvation in the Wesleyan Tradition (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1992), p. 61.J. Earnest Rattenbury, The Euchararistic Hymns of John and Charles Wesley(Cleveland: Order of Saint Luke Publications, 1990), H-12. Ibid, p. H-13. This is actually a term borrowed from Dietrich Bonhoeffer, The Cost of Discipleship (New York: Macmillan, 1951), p. 1.Colin Williams, John Wesley's Theology Today (Nashville: Abingdon, 1960), p. 69.The Book of Discipline of the United Methodist Church, 1992 (Nashville: The United Methodist Publishing House, 1992) p. 44.Sugden, Ibid., p. 171.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).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.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.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.Outler, Ibid., p. 337. Rattenbury, Ibid., p. H-14.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.Rattenbury, Ibid., p, 151.Ole Borgen, John Wesley on the Sacaments (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Francis Asbury Press, 1985), p, 184.Sugden, Ibid., p. 178.Duty of Receiving, as quoted by Borgen, Ibid.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.].Ibid., p. 121.Borgen, Ibid., p. 184.Rattenbury, Ibid., p. H-24.
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.Thou our faithful hearts prepare,Thou Thy pardoning grace declare;Thou that hast for sinners died, Show Thyself the Crucified. (34:3)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)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" 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." 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.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. 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...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 administratedThe 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."Glory to Him who freely spentHis blood, that we might live,And through this choicest instrumentDoth all His Blessing Give
Fasting He doth, and hearing blessAnd prayer can much avail,Good vessels all to draw the graceOut of salvation's well
But none, like this mysterious riteWhich dying mercy gaveCan draw for all the promised mightAnd all His will to save (42). 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. 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. 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."The promis'd Grace vouchsafe to give As each is able to receive, The blessed Grief to All impartOr joy; or Purity of Heart (76:2)
Selected BibliographyThe 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.
Edward Sugden, editor, John Wesley's Fifty-Three Sermons (Nashville: Abington, 1983), p. 170.As quoted in Charles Carter, editor, A Contemporary Wesleyan Theology (Grand Rapids: Francis Asbury Press, 1983), p. 485. Sugden, Ibid. p. 170. Kenneth Cain Kinghorn, The Gospel of Grace: The Way of Salvation in the Wesleyan Tradition (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1992), p. 61.J. Earnest Rattenbury, The Euchararistic Hymns of John and Charles Wesley(Cleveland: Order of Saint Luke Publications, 1990), H-12. Ibid, p. H-13. This is actually a term borrowed from Dietrich Bonhoeffer, The Cost of Discipleship (New York: Macmillan, 1951), p. 1.Colin Williams, John Wesley's Theology Today (Nashville: Abingdon, 1960), p. 69.The Book of Discipline of the United Methodist Church, 1992 (Nashville: The United Methodist Publishing House, 1992) p. 44.Sugden, Ibid., p. 171.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).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.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.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.Outler, Ibid., p. 337. Rattenbury, Ibid., p. H-14.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.Rattenbury, Ibid., p, 151.Ole Borgen, John Wesley on the Sacaments (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Francis Asbury Press, 1985), p, 184.Sugden, Ibid., p. 178.Duty of Receiving, as quoted by Borgen, Ibid.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.].Ibid., p. 121.Borgen, Ibid., p. 184.Rattenbury, Ibid., p. H-24.
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