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“The Alpha and the Omega” Rev. 21:1-6 Pgh 5/16/04
I have for a number of years been reading the book
entitled Spiritual Literacy with the subtitle "Reading the
Sacred in Everyday Life" by Frederic and Mary Ann
Brussat. I premise of their book is that we can find
sacred meaning in all the parts of our life and world. That God
has chosen to dwell with God's people and indeed we
can find the sacred in all of life. So tonight I want to talk
about how we open ourselves to finding the holy in our
every day lives.
First we begin with the realization that life is a sacred
journey. We cannot divorce or separate our spiritual life
from the rest of our life. From the moment of our birth
to our death and beyond we are spiritual beings. We
have a soul, we are not only created in the image of the
divine, we possess the divine. Our physical bodies, our
intellect, our giftedness, our beings are holy and meant
to reflect God's abiding with us. On our journey we
recognize the presence of the divine at work through
our interactions with others, in nature, and in the places
where we live and work and play. In what we do with
the gifts and talents entrusted to us. God can be found
in everything from cooking a meal for our partner, to
sending an evening attending an AA meeting, working
in our garden, creating a piece of art, and the list goes
on. Not a day goes by when we can't find the sacred in
our encounters with strangers, in the people we work
with, in the sharing of friendship, and in the intimate
acts of sharing our sexuality with another person. From
the moment our feet touch the floor in the morning all
the way till we lay our bodies in bed at night the sacred
is available to us. God is indeed the Alpha and the
Omega, the beginning and end, and found in all of life's
sacred journey.
So the question becomes how do we open ourselves
to be alert to the God's presence in life? I would suggest that
being attentive is the first step in
recognizing the sacred. On Sunday evenings when we
come to church God has our full attention. In our
songs, our prayers, communion, the sermon, our
fellowship with one another God is at the center of all
we do and all that we are. But what happens on Monday
morning? How do we find God in the office, how do we
take God with us to school, where's God when we are
dealing with a difficult situation or person? Our
attention and awareness begins by recognize that we
must be present, we must show up for life each day.
What do I mean by that? No matter what has happened
yesterday, no matter what will or will not happen
tomorrow we must live in the present. This moment, is
really where we must be. A common slogan in recovery
circles is living one day at a time. Our sacred journey
begins with one step, one moment, one day. We must
be present with the person we are having a
conversation with right now. We must be aware of the
room, the place we're in right now. We must open our
eyes and ears, all of our senses to what's happening
literally right before our eyes. We can loose ourselves
in busyness, we can dwell on the mistakes and negative
experiences of the past, we can spend precious time
thinking things will be different in the future but what
we have is this time right now. Be alert to the sacred in
the moment, see the beauty in the holy around you, pay
attention to God with you right now. Feel what the
Divine in you is saying about this moment right now. This
moment is given to us as gift. To be lived to the
fullest, to be given away to others in service, to see the beauty
of God that lives in us and is a part of every
living thing.
So tomorrow when you wake up thank God for all the
blessings of the day. Look around you - at your home,
look into the eyes of your loved one, look at the people
who you travel through the day. Take the time to see
the beauty of nature around you, smell the flowers or
the fresh cup of coffee. When you eat your meals
remember people around the world who are breaking
bread at other tables. See God. As you go to work, as
you do your important projects of the day, as you play,
read a book, go to the movies, write a poem - see the
Holy One who gives life. When you do those ordinary
things like cooking, cleaning, washing, writing out bills
know that this is part of the journey to which you can
give sacred meaning - knowing that God is present.
When you face a problem that really challenges you
tomorrow there is a way that this will work out because
God is a part of it. The moments of tomorrow are
sacred. Treat them with respect, may attention to all
that is happening, celebrate the beauty that is before
your eyes. Cherish the moment for it is holy.
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