The church as sacrament? (updated @ end)

"The sacrament of the Church is constituted by the symbolic expression, in tangible form, of the salvific presence of Jesus Christ. This symbolization takes place through a multitude of actions, such as confessions of faith, the reading of Scripture, the celebration of the sacraments, and caritative service in the name of Christ. Groups of Christians who do these things are visibly consecrated communities of believers; they are believers who by their conduct visibly show forth the continuing efficacy of Christ's saving work."

----- Avery Cardinal Dulles in Models of the Church



In TS503 we are moving ever so slowly from the study of the Holy Spirit (pneumatology) to that of the church (ecclesiology.) Where do we get our notions of the church - what it is, or should be?

Jesus spoke a lot more about the Kingdom of God than He did the church. We might like to think they are synonymous, but many of us also have suspicions that they are not. And other than in the Gospels, the New Testament speaks of the church from *within* it, rather than prophetically (seeing it from outside as revealed by God.)

So, what are we to make of the church? Was it instituted by Christ? Sure. Was its structure mandated by Christ? Principles, yes; structure, not really. That was more fashioned by the apostles and local leaders as they went along.

There are several models for the church suggested by the above quoted author, namely that of the church as:

institution,
mystic communion,
sacrament,
herald, or
servant.

I tend to think of the church most as the Body of Christ on this earth (which is under the mystical communion model), but with a definitive two-pronged mission to continue serving as His hands, feet, mouth, and so... do as Jesus did (see Luke 4:16-21 & 7:20-22): herald the good news and serve the needy (bring healing, freedom, comfort, hope.) Kind of a blend of three of the models.

As to the others, the church as institution I pretty much reject out of hand (and fortunately Vatican II is helping the Catholic Church move away from this concept), but this one of church as sacrament nags at me. I would hope that the church serves as a sacrament to the watching world - a tangible sign that the saving, healing presence of Jesus is still among us, bringing hope to a world in despair.

But as we move deeper into the political process, and preachers of all sorts, right and left, black and white, from the likes of Jeremiah Wright to the theological heirs of Jerry Falwell (God rest his soul), or even para-preachers like Sharpton and Dobson, air their views in public.. do "we", the church, still serve as a sacrament to those outside the church, pointing them toward the source of real hope? Or do we point to nothing but our broken, self-centered humanness?

Sometimes I think that the prominent politicians do a better job than the prominent preachers in building hope; but at the same time I have no real confidence that political hope of any sort can transcend the next election cycle.