Of late, I’ve been listening to the How Not to Give a F**k podcasts during my morning runs at the Emancipation Park. In one of the episodes I listened to last week, a co-presenter referred to the phenomenon Sigmund Freud termed “the narcissism of the slightest difference.” Freud introduced this concept in his work Group Psychology and the Analysis of the Ego (1921). He used it to highlight the observation that humans often focus on small distinctions or differences between themselves and others to feel special or superior, even when those differences are minor. Whatever you make of Freud’s argument, I think the reality is that, often, we share more similarities than we care to admit. I suggest this is the case as it relates to traditional Christianity and revivalism. I would like to briefly explore this using the Anglican theology of sacramentality.
humans often focus on small distinctions or differences between themselves and others to feel special or superior, even when those differences are minor.
The most basic definition of a sacrament the church gives is provided in the Book of Common
Prayer (pp. 409-413). Based on the neo-platonic ideas of the African Saint, St. Augustine, the definition states, “The sacraments are outward and visible signs of inward and spiritual grace, given by Christ as sure and certain means by which we receive grace.” Grace is then defined as, “God’s favour towards us, unearned and undeserved, by grace God forgives our sins, enlightens our minds, stirs our hearts, and strengthens our wills.” Baptism and the Holy Eucharist (Communion) are identified as the “two great sacraments of the Gospel,” while five other phenomena are identified as “other sacramental rites [that] evolved in the Church under the guidance of the Holy Spirit.” These are Confirmation, Ordination, Christian Marriage, Confession and Absolution, as well as the Anointing of the Sick.
Question 131 sheds light on the material component of sacramentality and introduces an interesting open-endedness. To the question, “Is God’s activity (of bestowing grace) limited to these (7) rites?,” the Church provides the following response, “God does not limit Himself to these rites; they are patterns of countless ways by which God uses material things to reach out to us.” In other words, God uses ordinary material objects such as bread, wine, oil, water (and a host of others) to mediate God’s love in our lives. This perspective emphasizes the sacred potential inherent in common materials. Thus, in the Holy Eucharist, we offer up bread and wine (comingled with water) as a sacrifice to God who then, by the Spirit, transforms them, in essence, into the life-giving Body and Blood of Christ.
they are patterns of countless ways by which God uses material things to reach out to us
It is this theology – that ordinary, everyday items become objects through which God’s blessings and grace are transmitted – that underpins much of what we see in Revivalism! The coconut, for example, a staple item in Revival worship spaces, is used as a channel through which a specific spiritual/supernatural power or grace is mediated, particularly the act of “cutting destruction (diminishing evil)” (Robinson-Smith, 2018, Chapter 4). In this ritual act, the whole fruit is smashed against a wall or on the ground, and the warding off of evil takes place at that moment. Coconut, along with items such as kananga water, grapefruit, and beer are thus rightly called “symbols,” highlighting, not only their context-dependent meaning but also their functions as mediators of deeper spiritual realities. The genius of Revivalism in this regard is its willingness to sacramentalize ordinary elements that hold significance in the everyday lives of its practitioners. In other words, its sacramental praxis is grounded in the experience/context of the people. Indeed, while theoretically possible within Anglicanism, the practice tends to differ. Anglicanism has what I call a "received sacramentality," in that it sacramentalises elements that are already imbued with sacred significance in the European religious heritage it inherited and has not moved beyond that cultural framework.
The genius of Revivalism in this regard is its willingness to sacramentalize ordinary elements that hold significance in the everyday lives of its practitioners
The sacramental theology of Anglicanism, then, is hospitable to the use of coconut and other “symbols” in Revival spaces. (A similar argument can be made for ganja in Rastafari.) Although Anglicanism theoretically allows for numerous objects to serve as mediums of inward or spiritual power, the actual number employed in its liturgical rites is more restricted compared to the extensive use of objects in the practices of revivalists. I have yet to identify, in the literature, the criteria for selecting items for sacramental use in revivalism. It would appear to me, however, that an important consideration is the value of the object in ordinary, everyday life. Given the versatility and nutritional/health benefits of coconut in slave and post-slave Jamaican society, it is not difficult to see how its significance is transferred to the ritual space.
The closer one looks at Anglicanism and Revivalism, the more one notices the differences are often exaggerated. External differences are not sure indicators of conceptual differences. For example, both affirm something beautiful about the material world – God's presence can be felt and experienced through its ordinary objects. The idea that objects in the world can be means through which the divine is made tangible and accessible bridges the gap between the physical and spiritual realms and gives ritual expression to who we are compositionally – physical and spiritual. Moreover, both groups affirm that the legitimacy of sacramentals does not necessitate explicit Scriptural warrant, emphasising the role of and openness to the Holy Spirit to lead the church accordingly. Thus, Anglicans, informed by their theology of the sacraments, would not typically pose questions to Revivalists like, "Where do you find the use of coconut in the Bible?"
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