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The Role of a Sacrament Principle in a Christian’s Life

The article is Finding God in all things: A sacramental worldview and its effects by Michael J. Himes. In this article, Himes evaluates the relevance of a Sacrament and the Sacrament Principle in a Christian’s life. According to him, this principle is what makes Catholism Catholic. He offers a description of the Sacrament Principle as “what is always and everywhere the case must be noticed, accepted and celebrated somewhere and sometime” (Himes 3). In addition, God is described as the creator of the universe who created out of love without expecting anything in return (Himes, 4). Moreover, God is viewed as mystery that man cannot describe adequately. It is for this reason that metaphors such as the creator and king are formulated to describe the nature of God (Himes 7). However, Christians have a fundamental metaphor to refer to God that is derived from the New Testament. “God is Love” from the New Testament First Letter of John (4: 8 and 16) is a fundamental metaphor such that all the other descriptions of God revolve around it. In addition, God’s selfless love, agape, is contrasted to eros kind of love. Agape represents love that expects nothing from the receiver while Eros seeks to gain satisfaction from the receiver (Himes 9). Agape is the source of God’s creation (Himes 11). In addition, God loves his creation perfectly. However, Human being respond imperfectly by failing to appreciate what God has given them such as grace (Himes 12). Grace goes unrecognized in the same way that man fails to recognize other things such as Oxygen that have been offered freely. There are different Sacraments such as Baptism, Reconciliation, Eucharist, Confirmation, Marriage, Ordination and Last Rites. A Sacrament represents occasions when grace is made effectively present. In addition, Himes argues that a Christian ought to recognize God’s love and offer it to other people. Religion should also enrich a person’s imagination and sensitivity to others. Incarnation means becoming more human by embracing qualities such as wisdom, love and being more human. I agree with Hime’s argument that a Sacrament plays a meaningful purpose in a Christian’s life. There are a number of ethics that a Christian should emulate from this article such as exercising selfless love towards others, embracing holiness and appreciating what God has offered to us.

Selfless Love

Christians should exercise selfless love towards others. Himes says that God shows agape love towards human beings. He created the earth and sustains it as an expression of his love (Himes 9) Therefore, a Christian, should emulate this quality by acting kindly towards others. This involves taking part in community services and helping the poor as acts love. Christians should also perform their duties thoroughly without expecting any praise or gratitude from anyone in the same way that God does not expect anything in return from his creation. A Christian leader should also be sensitive to his/her juniors. He /she ought to treat them with kindness just as God loves his creation perfectly despite man’s imperfections (Himes 9). A Christian must also avoid vices such as corruption and nepotism because they affect others negatively. This would be contrary to God’s selfless love.

Appreciation

Christians should appreciate what God has given them. In this article, Himes notes that human beings tend to ignore free things that God has offered to them. He uses a personal example that he did not understand the significance of blinking until he suffered from Bell’s palsy (Himes 12). Therefore, a Christian ought to be thankful to God for thing like children, parents, friends, nature and air among others. Part of appreciating is taking good care of these things. For example, the environment should be protected by discouraging poaching and wrong disposition of waste. Furthermore, Christians should be part of organizations or initiatives that preserve God’s creation such as children homes that prevent children from suffering.

Embracing Holiness

Christians ought to embrace holiness. Himes describes holiness as an act of being truly human. It involves undertaking acts that makes them braver, wise, more intelligent, freer, more responsible and more loving (Himes 16). Therefore, every Christian has a responsibility of empowering himself/herself. For example, a Christian youth should go to school and gain a good education. In addition, Christians should facilitate the well being of others by helping them to mould themselves. These can be achieved by offering scholarships for students or seminars that empower people.

Some people might argue that a Sacrament or the Sacrament Principle does not have any significance in a person’s life. However, there is need to understand why a Sacrament is offered. It reflects an individual’s recognition of God’s agape love to man. It is for this reason that there are different Sacraments at almost every stage of a person’s life. God sustains his creation and loves it perfectly. Man on the other hand has a weakness of failing to recognize this love through ignorance. However, a Sacrament helps us remember of God’s perfect love that sustains us at all time. Therefore, a Sacrament and the Sacrament Principle are vital element of every Christian.

In conclusion, a sacrament is a reflection of God’s love and kindness to man. There are many ethics that a Christian can learn from this love such as kindness and love. It is also important for Christians to understand the role of the Sacrament Principle in their life. Understanding God’s selfless love might be a subjective topic since God shows grace to each person differently. However, every individual should evaluate their life and identify acts that might be considered as God’s grace.

Work Cited

Himes, Michael. "Finding God in all things:A Sacramental worldview and its effects." Einfler, Karen and Landy Thomas. Becoming beholders. Collegeville,Minnesota: Liturgical Press, 2001. 1-17.