The Church is the People of God

The Church: The Sacrament of Salvation

The image of the Church as “The People of God” is one of my favourites, possibly because of its focus on the Church as a living, human community gathered as one around Christ, its living centre.  Sadly, this image has been misunderstood and used in ways that were never intended.  For some, it was an opportunity to engineer opportunities for conflict between the hierarchy and the laity, power struggles, the very opposite of what the Church as a “People” means.  Collegiality, collaboration in Christ, is what characterises the Church, not conflict over who has the highest ranking in the Kingdom.  The Apostles learnt that early on in their vocations… It shall not be this way among you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first among you must be your slave— just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many.”…(Matthew 20:6-28).

Viewing the Church in this manner ultimately omits what is most essential – God.  That seems to be an ongoing temptation for Christ’s disciples, leaving God to take up a battle over power. 

What is central for believers is that Jesus Christ is the Light of the world.  The Church exists for the sole purpose of bringing Christ’s Light to the world, and the way it does this is by being Christ’s Light in the world.

The Church is a sign and a sacrament

The Church is a sacrament, and it is as a sacrament continues Christ’s saving mission in the world.  It has traditionally been understood as being both a sign and an instrument of God’s grace.  As a sign, the Church points the world towards God, illuminating God through the way she lives among others.  Having experienced the Living God in Christ’s disciples, the world can then come to a faith in response to Christ’s invitation. 

This is the Church’s vocation. By her very constitution, by the way she operates, the way she functions in the world, she leads the world toward communion with God and their neighbour in this life and eternal union forever in the next.

As instrument, the Church makes communion with God possible utilising the gifts given to her by Christ: her doctrine, laws, and sacraments. The Church, then, is the sacrament of Christ: she makes His work of salvation visible and accessible to human beings.

In this way the Church functions in a manner that is analogous to the seven sacraments:  she leads us to a share in God’s life and into a deeper union with Christ. While the Church is not properly the “eighth” sacrament, theologians have called the Church the “fundamental” or “root” sacrament because the seven liturgical sacraments receive their power through the Church, which, rooted in the mystery of God, receives power from Christ.

Each liturgical sacrament brings about a specific grace proper to its physical sign; the Church is the sign of Christ’s enduring presence in the world. In the words of contemporary theologian Scott Hahn, the Church is more than an institution that exists for the sake of performing sacraments; she is herself a sacramental institution that does what she is.

Sacraments in a nutshell

The Sacraments are defined as outward signs of inward grace, instituted by Christ to help individuals in their spiritual life and to grow in holiness. Sacraments are mysteries; they are signs of the sacred presence of our God in our midst today. They are more than mere signs, however, for the sacraments impart grace. The sacraments help to make people holy and build-up the body of Christ. They are a way to relate to God throughout life’s transitions and help us to give praise and worship to God. They help us nourish, strengthen, and express our faith. Through the sacraments, Jesus remains with His people, strengthening, healing, feeding, and forgiving them as they face life’s challenges.  The Sacraments nourish, strengthen, and express faith.

The Church is the universal sacrament of salvation since Christ, who is continually active in the world, leads all people to the Church, so that He may join them more closely to Himself.

 Through the Holy Spirit, Christ’s mission of salvation continues in the Church in which, through our faith, we learn the meaning of our earthly life, while we bring to term, with hope of future good, the task allotted to us in the world by the Father and so work out our salvation.

The myriad scandals and sins that have tarnished the public face of the Church is a reminder that Church members, lay and clerical, can quite effectively blunt the Church as a sign of salvation. It is one of the great mysteries of faith that, God comes to men only through men. Which is an adaption of 1 Timothy 2:5… For, There is one God and one Mediator who can reconcile God and humanity—the man Christ Jesus.

The Church remains the Body of Christ

 But despite the failings and sins of bishops, clergy and laity alike, the Church remains Christ’s one and only instrument of salvation.  This is because she is not merely an association of “the People” gathered by their own initiative and will for their own purposes and benefit.  She is instead the “ecclesia,” “the assembly called together” personally by God.

 This chosen assembly has a divine Founder.  Christ continues to direct the Church, through the Spirit, as her invisible Head. Christ, moreover, chose this assembly to dispense the fullness of grace – His teachings and sacraments – for all people. It is not surprising, then, that our greatest efforts to impede the plan of salvation, which all involve turning away from God and focusing on ourselves as “the People” who know best, have yet to succeed in eliminating the Church.

Conclusion

Cardinal Henri de Lubac wrote that if the world lost the Church, it would lose the Redemption too, for she alone communicates God’s grace to us. Faith in the Church as the universal sacrament of salvation rests ultimately upon Christ.  It is Christ who continues to will that sinners carry out His mission to sinners. True power comes from God in the Church and the sacraments, visible signs that point our way back to him.

Bishop Michael Hough                                                                      June    2025