Sacraments are the important tenets, the critical pieces of the Christian faith…traditions with power to bring us back to the Throne, to cut through our egos and attitudes, to reduce us, to empty us of ourselves to allow the Person of Christ to rise to the surface. This sounds like prayer to me…for anything that brings us into communion with Christ is prayer, and anything that is prayer brings us into communion with Christ. The tendency in organized religion to name, label and define everything of importance has grouped certain acts or traditions as sacraments, and certainly all those mentioned previously are important. However, something is lost when we try to define the undefinable…when we try to control the uncontrollable…to understand the unknowable.
Life itself is a sacrament. If we considered notable moments in our day as sacred gifts given to draw us into communion with God…how might that change our experience of prayer, of relationship with God? My 8 month old son is a very active young man who rarely slows down … but this week, he lay on my chest and cuddled with me for a half hour as I breathed quiet love songs in his ear. It was a sacred moment…a beautiful, wonderful gift…true prayer…for in our sweet moment I found myself weeping in wordless prayer…my son in my arms, and I the the arms of my Father.
Be receptive…be ready to embrace the grace hiding in ordinary moments. The perfect cup of coffee on the perfect winter morning…a gift from God, calling us into communion. The unplanned encounter and meaningful conversation with a coworker…a gift, calling us into communion. The achingly beautiful song on the radio…a gift. The sunset after a long day…a gift.
Think of all the sacred rites we could engage with in the midst of our everyday, normal lives. No need to wait for Sunday morning, for God is present, arms eternally open, heart forever turned toward us in anticipation of relationship … even in the most ordinary of moments.
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