I am reading John MacQuarrie's fun little book A Guide to the Sacraments, and in it he makes an interesting point on how Jesus Christ is not only the author and minister of the sacraments, but is also the exemplar of them. That is to say, he posseses annd exemplifies the grace which they bring about in whoever receives them.
Building on the work of Kenan Osbourne, he comes up with a chart to show what he means:
The Baptized One/Baptism - Jesus - Faith
The Confirmed One/Confirmation - Jesus - Perserverence
The Really Present One/Eucharist - Jesus - Self-Giving
The Reconciler/Penance - Jesus - Penitence
The Priest/Orders - Jesus - Service
The Lover/Marriage - Jesus - Love
The Healer/Unction - Jesus - Wholeness
In reference to baptism, for example, MacQuarrie writes: "Just as Jesus understood his own baptism as that solemn moment when he must embark on the high mission to which the Father had called him, fortified by the Holy Spirit that now rested upon him, so one who receives Christian baptism is called to follow in the way of Jesus and receives the same spirit"
Regarding penance, we understand that, as representative man, the new Adam, Jesus is the reconciled. He writes: "If we try to get away from our all-too-individualistic ways of thinking and see Jesus Christ in solidarity with the whole of humanity, then it will not seem strange to us that even as he justifies the whole race by realizing God's intention of humanity, so he also takes the sins of the race upon himself and repents of them."
One gets the idea of where MacQuarrie would go with the rest of the sacraments. This is just an amazing concept to me - Christ being not only the author and minister, but also the exemplar of the sacraments. So obvious, but something I had never even thought of or heard articulated before.
