“What is saving my life now is the conviction that there is no spiritual treasure to be found apart from the bodily experiences of human life on earth. My life depends on engaging the most ordinary physical activities with the most exquisite attention I can give them. My life depends on ignoring all touted distinctions between the secular and the sacred, the physical and the spiritual, the body and the soul. What is saving my life now is becoming more fully human, trusting that there is no way to God apart from real life in the real world.”
~ Barbara Brown Taylor, A Memoir of Faith
This Sunday we’re worshiping at Kennedy Park and celebrating the sacraments of baptism and Communion. These are rituals instituted by Jesus that we do as means of accessing God’s grace and God’s presence (although every day life is also sacramental). Sacraments have physical and spiritual elements ~ as if earth and heaven are touching fingers.
Baptism is an acknowledgement of what we already know: that we are loved by God. It is a way of saying back to God, “I love You too.” When Jesus rose up out of the waters of baptism, He heard a voice identifying Him as God’s Beloved. We are also God’s Beloved, and baptism is a physical reminder of this spiritual reality.
I’ve loved sharing Communion around the Table with all ages at Wonder Church. It’s simply a love-feast, the bread and cup passed from hand to hand, none of us absolutely certain of what it means and all of us touched by the conviction that God’s Spirit is present.
I’ve been asking myself a lot lately, “What is saving my life right now?” and it’s helping me notice God’s presence ~ and the holiness of everyday life. I hope you’ll come to worship at Kennedy Park and celebrate the sacredness of being in community, practicing ancient rituals, and the glorious smell of barbequed hamburgers.
In faith, Marylee