"Let me sing for my beloved
my love-song concerning his vineyard:
My beloved had a vineyard on a very fertile hill."
(from Isaiah 5:1-7)
Living a sacramental life describes my pastoral ministry.
Baptism, I have concluded, through study and searching the Scriptures is when a person enters a covenant, by water and the Spirit, to Serve the Lord by resisting evil, injustice, and oppression in whatever form it presents itself.
Reflecting on these statements, I conclude baptism is a one-time event with the church offering Christians periodic opportunities to renew their vows.
It is, as one of my professors stated, a "ritual with responsibilities."
The Eucharist, sharing the loaf and cup in Jesus' name, is what sustains us as we strive to live out our baptism vows.
When we bless and share the cup we are proclaiming the mystery of faith: Christ has died, Christ is risen, Christ will come again.
I was given a coffee mug from a church that had inscribed on it, "feeding the community, body and soul".
Baptism and Eucharist form my core beliefs and practices.
Thus, when I donate an item to the Food Pantry, I do it not only to feed a hungry person, but also as a way of "resisting injustice and oppression."
When I receive communion, I am proclaiming my Christian faith, as well as having my soul nourished by the Holy Spirit.
Communion asks us, will we produce the sweet wine of justice as God expected or produce the foul smell of injustice that ultimately offends God?
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