Values are the things that undergird a particular community’s way of being. They are the building blocks of how communities operate and what motivates them.
Here at Rez, we have identified five values that we want to inhabit as a community. They are liturgy, sacrament, Scripture, formation, and hospitality.
Let’s talk about sacrament. The definition of a sacrament is “an outward and visible sign of an inward and spiritual grace.” Baptism, Holy Communion, and Marriage are a few examples of the sacraments that can be received in the Church. Through the sacraments, we encounter Jesus in real and transformative ways.
Unfortunately, one short blog post can’t cover the depth of the sacraments. However, I’d like to distill one aspect of why this value is important for us as a church community.
The Greek word for sacrament is mysterion. It’s where we get the word ‘mystery’ from. In the sacraments, we encounter something both mysterious and knowable. We experience the mysterious God in the tangible elements of bread and wine, water, and the laying on of hands.
As Christians, we aren’t expected to know everything. We aren’t expected to have rid ourselves of every doubt we may have concerning God and Christianity. This is what mystery (i.e. the sacraments) teaches us. I like what the Orthodox Bishop Kallistos Ware says, “A mystery is something that is revealed for our understanding, but which we never understand exhaustively because it leads into the depth of God.”
Isn’t that precisely what faith is? Faith is placing our hope in something we can’t fully understand. In order for faith to be faith, we have to be stretched into these areas of mystery. It’s okay to have your doubts. In fact, bring your doubts to church. Doubt doesn’t imply unbelief or faithlessness. It more likely means the opposite–that our faith is alive and growing.
In the sacraments, we bring our doubts to the table while experiencing the grace and mercy of Jesus. I hope you can join us with all your doubts as we collectively follow Jesus Christ.
