How rich it is to think about human life in the framework of sacraments. Simply put, a sacrament is any moment that the divine breaks through into life or that we, with our human spirit, reach out and touch the divine. The sacramental moment can be overwhelming or it can be very ordinary with the space of daily life.
God fills the earth and every breath we take. Our responsibility is to pay attention to the many daily moments where we encounter the divine. Living a life of faith means to be attentive to the hand of God breaking through in the unexpected moments of life.
We can limit the experience of what is a sacrament if we strictly limit it to what we officially do in the church building.
How we think about the workings of life will open or close reality to us. If we think that we will not encounter God in the mess and the muck of human life, then we probably will never meet God in the upheavals of daily life. There are limitations, but they are within us. We could miss God all the while thinking that we are giving religion our very best.
The most universal of all sacraments and the one that is available to everyone is the poor who live among us. It will be in the poor with their many faces that we are meant to encounter and respond to God. The definition of who is poor must not be limited to the people who have a very weak cash flow. Being poor is a much greater reality than the panhandler on the street begging for loose change.
Today there are countless poor people who are in our care homes. It could be the brain damaged young male of twenty-five whose own age group has dropped him. It may be the elderly grandmother who has no one but is well cared for in the nursing home. It may be the new Canadian who has no close friends or relatives.
Mother Theresa summed it up very well when she observed that the greatest form of poverty is not to be without money or material resources. The strongest form of poverty is not to be wanted.
Poverty comes in many colors and flavours. Simply put, we must speak about the poor with their many faces. Money in our bank account does not make one a rich person. Nor does the absence of money make one a poor person. It is the one who gets pushed aside, who is no longer considered to be of much worth who is the very poor person.
Our Christian faith has been given much attention to the final judgment in the twenty-fifth chapter of the Gospel of Matthew. Jesus identifies with the poor. “I was hungry and you gave me food.” We see in our daily actions the moment of encountering the divine. It is in the faces of the poor, the neglected and the unwanted that we locate God.
The poor are the place where everyone can access God. The faces of the poor reveal God in new and wonderful ways.
As with all sacraments it is not easy or cheap. Accepting the poor as a moment of encounter with the divine can be very difficult. It may be the patience it takes to handle our elderly mother who is so cranky and sharp of tongue. Nothing pleases her any longer! From being a woman that you wanted to be with, she has degenerated into someone you would rather avoid. In her dementia, she is very poor.
It may be the new Canadian with whom you work but she is having such a hard time learning English. Some days the communication can be very strained as she tries to make herself understood. Is not the inability to speak English a form of poverty?
It may be your sister who has a child with multiple needs. She and her husband work very hard and try to give the best for their child. But your sister gets very tired. Is not her need for a break another face of poverty?
Here is where we are being challenged by the way that God actually comes into life. The faces of the poor reveal and bring forth the mystery of God in new and vibrant ways. As we respond to the needs of one another we will grow in life and find our faith maturing and bearing much fruit.
The poor are a daily revelation of God. It will be in our compassion and care for them that we can share in the very life of God.
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