Sacred

Rod Dreher wrote a book about politics in which the main point is that living life is a sacrament, which he defines as "a physical thing--an object or an action--through which holiness is transmitted. . . . Being good is not something you do because it works; being good is something you do because it's the right thing to do, even if it costs you. . . . Everyday things, occurrences, and exchanges provide an opportunity to encounter ultimate reality--even, if you like, divinity."

He's talking about "Crunchy Cons" -- conservatives who hearken back to the original meaning of the word; I think a lot of what he has to say refers to Christians who believe they are creatures in a world formed and governed by God.

So, if there is a God who is defining the rules and ordaining our days, what is beyond the scope of His reign?

The oma with her flowers on the S-Bahn last night who beams a sincere and personal smile at me every time our eyes meet and bids me farewell when I got off the train?

The sweet little girl who perches on the toilet and grins up at me with a light in her eyes as she hears a tinkle, telling me, "I go pee-pee!" and then sings as she gets dressed, "My underwear is dry!"?

A twenty-three-year-old English girl who invites me to her flat for tea and hopes I will stay for her housewarming party later that night, sharing her vision for working with a ministry for students in Berlin as we eat a piece of her flatmate's delicious chocolate red wine cake?

An affectionate toddler who tumbles all over me while I am sitting on the floor, practicing his kissing and dimples, then lies on the rug alongside my legs and falls asleep?

Three children who swarm me as I cut up vegetables for dinner, begging for just one more slice of red pepper, cucumber, or carrot until I laugh and let them demolish a mountain of fresh, raw "begetables?"

An eager baker who proudly mixed flour and spices, eggs and oil and apples, and then everything together for apple muffins? After the dishes were done, we sat on stools on either side of the oven, having a big girl chat while we waited for the timer to go off, the littles happy in the playroom. 

Eric Irwin mentioned in a recent e-mail to his church one of the results of knowing your own sinfulness and receiving God's gift of life:

You become loving. Your self-consciousness or shyness, your irritation at
how long the line is, your indifference to "lesser" people, your obsession
with your all-important agenda: there has been a great reverse and now the
world is filled with potential objects of God's affection. God is love, he
indwells you, you are loving. Now the world is a target-rich environment;
fire at will.

There is no one, no moment, which is not sacred; fire at will.