There are essentially two extremes within Christianity with regards to the use of images in worship (both corporate and personal). There are some groups, particularly those with roots in the East, that embrace as many visual aids in worship as possible. Catholic and Orthodox churches come to mind. They have a long history of embracing icons, which others have called idols, to build their faith and deepen their devotion. Many other denominations, especially those with roots in the West, have utterly rejected anything that smacks of Popish iconism. They reject everything from statues to stained glass to the showy drama of the Mass. Their faith is more intellectual and propositional, while their Eastern counterparts' faith is more mystical and devotional (obviously, there are plenty of exceptions). I believe that we need to find the middle ground. I believe this because our Savior's teaching found this middle ground.
Jesus Christ is the greatest teacher who ever lived. This is true not only because the content of His teaching (and person) was the fullest revelation of God possible (Hebrews 1:1-4), but also because His style was simultaneously personal/accessible and complex/propositional. One thing that marked His teaching style was the use of images. Most Christians, at least those who have been students of the Word in some way, are familiar with some of His straight-forward says--things like the Beatitudes and the Lord's Prayer. What really sticks with us, however, are the pictures that He has given us. Parables like The Prodigal Son and The Parable of the Sower embed themselves in our minds permanently. It is not, however, only His parables that illustrate this visual principle. He often pointed to simple things in real life that communicated deep truths. When seeking to illustrate true devotion and selflessness, Jesus pointed to a widow who was giving all she had to the Temple. This was no hypothetical situation. Jesus used a situation that was currently happening to teach His disciples. Jesus also used this didactic method when His disciples asked Him who was the greatest in the Kingdom. He promptly took a child and employed him to teach His disciples an important principle.
Jesus's most climactic illustration of this principle was His ordination of the sacraments. The Belgic Confession (this blog was inspired by a Sunday School lesson my church had on this section of the Belgic last Sunday--many thanks to all who were involved in the thought-provoking dialogue) describes the purpose of the sacraments. Article 33 begins by saying, "We believe that our gracious God, taking account of our weakness and
infirmities, has ordained the sacraments for us, thereby to seal unto us His
promises, and to be pledges of the good will and grace of God towards
us, and also to nourish and strengthen our faith..." The truth is that we are weak. Humans are frail and prone to forget. The history of Israel is proof enough of that. Our Savior, who experienced the weakness of human flesh (though sinlessly) gave His Church the sacraments as signs (visible pictures) and seals (authoritative confirmations) of the truths of the Gospel to remind and encourage us. Baptism reminds us that we are washed by the Holy Spirit and cleansed from our sins. The Lord's Supper (or The Lord's Table or Communion or The Eucharist, whichever you prefer) pictures the body and blood of our crucified Savior. These two sacraments, empowered by the Holy Spirit, replace the complex ceremonial system found in the Old Testament.
So, what we can gather from all this data is that Jesus greatly simplified the visual aid system prescribed in the Old Testament, but reinforced the principle that mankind is visual and that our weakness necessitates visual aids. It is a shame, then, that the sacraments are widely neglected or perverted. On one side you have those that rarely (if ever) observe the sacraments. There are even some who dogmatically reject the need for them. The theological reasons behind this are various, but many times we ignore the sacraments because we simply don't think we need them that much. Getting baptized is a good idea. Observing the Table is a good idea. So we do it once or year or once a quarter. Not many people would say that they think the sacraments are unimportant, but our actions speak more loudly than our words. Maybe we think our spirituality is more intellectual than that. Maybe we think our faith is stronger than that. Who knows?
On the other side you have those who are overly sacramental. The Roman Catholic Church, for instance, has 7 sacraments. They embrace the sacraments explicitly ordained by Christ as perpetual duties of the Church, but they add to the two He ordained. Once again, I would not want to judge motives or ignore centuries of debate over the issue, but, at the end of the day, they have added to the sacraments given to us by our Head. They have also added icons to Christ's worship, things never prescribed by the Savior or any of His Apostles (I understand that they would claim Apostolic succession). The RCC is not the only culprit, however. We add all sorts of things that become "sacramental." Many groups have traditions or "helps" that they consider essential to a proper worship service, whether it's an altar call, an Easter play, or a picture of the Last Supper mounted on the wall in the vestibule.
We are weak. We need signs. Our Savior has given us two of them--Baptism and the Lord's Supper. It is a slap in His face both when we ignore them and when we are not satisfied with them. We need to avoid both extremes.
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