Christ is the Creator of all. Everything in heaven and on earth is his handiwork and reveals him. It is no wonder, then, that he would minister divine grace to us through tangible things. Indeed, through the tangibility of created matter, he ministers salvation to us. For salvation is not abstract and disembodied, separating spirit from body, but it is actually and transformative. God ministers grace to us in tangible ways and through such means as water, oil, bread and wine. These are not mere symbols but become sacramental elements through which God actually accomplishes something in us, manifesting salvation to us.
In the Water of Baptism, we are buried with Christ, baptized into his death, so that just as Christ has been raised from the dead, we too may live in newness of life, the life of Christ in us.
Don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life. (Romans 6:3-4)
In the Oil of Anointing, Christ ministers healing to us, just as he sent the disciples out to preach, with authority to expel demons and heal diseases. Presbyters/Priests were likewise given authority to anoint with oil for healing.
They drove out many demons and anointed many sick people with oil and healed them. (Mark 6:13)
Is anyone among you sick? Let them call the elders of the church to pray over them and anoint them with oil in the name of the Lord. (James 5:14)
The Bread and Wine of Eucharist have true participation in the Body and Blood of Christ, and so we, who are many, become the Body of Christ.
Is not the cup of thanksgiving for which we give thanks a participation in the blood of Christ? And is not the bread that we break a participation in the body of Christ? Because there is one loaf, we, who are many, are one body, for we all share the one loaf. (1 Corinthians 10:16-17)
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