"Living Sacramentally"
For Christians, God is not limited or solely encountered in the sanctuary or church. “The earth is the Lord’s and all that is in it” writes the Psalmist. And yet, for most of us, we don’t really encounter or see much of God in the everyday world of housework, the office or the classroom. But the problemis not the absence of God, but our seeing. What is needed is learning to live sacramentally. “Sacrament” is one of those words that carries a lot of baggage for some people. It smells of smoke and incense and reminds them of gothic churches full of candles and dark corners. I don’t want to dismiss the place of candles, incense and architecture in helping us become more aware of the nature of the sacred, but learning to live sacramentally is learning to see so that we encounter the Holy not just in the sanctuary or church or even just in our inner sanctuary, but out in the world in daily encounters, in every moment.
While particular understandings about “sacraments” differ from Christian group to Christian group, generally speaking sacraments are considered to be visible signs of God’s grace. A common definition is: “an outward and visible sign of an inward and spiritual grace.” In other words, it is the realization that physical things and moments of time and space, can become instruments that reveal God’s grace and presence. “Living sacramentally” means living with our eyes wide open, of becoming aware that every hour and minute and second we live is played out in the presence of God. It happens when ordinary, seemingly mundane things are wrapped in the presence of an extraordinary, present God. Now if we could let that sink in a bit, we might see that staff meeting that we dread, that standing in a slow moving line, the tense family living room, the student in my class that I can’t stand, that job that bores me to tears in a different light. If we go into these situations trying to remember that this could be holy ground—if we can discern, and respond to God’s presence there in those moments and situations, things could change. God can change “wasted” time into meaningful time. Standing in that long line can become a sacred moment through something as simple as engaging someone in a brief conversation or exchanging a smile that could transform someone’s day. Each and every moment in our day is an opportunity to experience the sacred and have that experience transform the moment. It is more than an intellectual experience, a “psyching” yourself up, it is a real experience that anyone can have, if you open up all your senses to its possibility.
I said it is an “opportunity”, but not a given. Ultimately it grows out of a relationship with God that makes us sensitive to God’s presence – in us, in the world and in the other. And that relationship doesn’t just happen by accident. It has to be cultivated. And as we cultivate it through prayer and worship, silence and reflection on God’s word, the heart and mind of Christ is formed in us and we begin to live sacramentally by being more open and empathetic.
Maybe Frederick Buechner says it best in his book Now and Then: “Listen to your life. See it for the fathomless mystery that it is. In the boredom and pain of it, no less than in the excitement and gladness: touch, taste, smell your way to the holy and hidden part of it, because in the last analysis all moments are key elements, and life itself is grace.”
