LIVING AS APPRENTICES
Did you hear the birds this morning- really hear the call and response, the poetry of the chirping? Did you taste the salt and peppery flavor and relish the warmth of your scrambled eggs? Were you shocked by the greening of the world when you stepped out the door. Did you revel in the aroma of the freshly cut grass? If so, you were welcoming moments of sacramental living.
Sacramental living is an odd term for those of us living in the 21st century. It means living every moment recognizing and enjoying the presence of God. We don’t think much about sacraments any more. Rites and rituals aren’t in fashion in a world of right-now social media. However, those sacraments celebrated in our liturgies are prescribed for us because they help us approach and find God. And the need to and joy in walking with God is why we our lives sacramentally.
Sacramental living is as easy and as difficult as taking a moment to breathe in the creative energy of God on display all around us. It is as easy and difficult as finding and affirming Christ in every person we meet. Sacramental living is a training ground for life in heaven. We practice living in God’s Kingdom on earth so that we can appreciate even more the Kingdom in heaven. Sacramental living is one more expression of “thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”
Living as Apprentices 
“Rites and rituals aren’t in fashion in a world of right-now social media.” I agree, but I think they are desperately missed. That is why we create Facebook profiles, so that we have the opportunity to connect; that is why we check our phones every 10 minutes, to see if anyone is trying to reach us; that is why we tweet the most mundane events of our day, so that someone might notice. All of the “right-now social media” are cheap substitutes for sacrament, because they promise instant and real connection and presence, but ultimately can’t deliver — why do you think it’s such big business? Maybe the next model or the new update will get it right, we think — the kind of real presence that a loaf of bread, lovingly kneaded and patiently risen and wisely baked and generously served, can offer when broken in the community of faith. Thanks for the reminder, Karen.
AMEN
Wonder-filled posting. Thanks for encouragement of sacramental living!!!
William R. Boersma
Minister of Care
Christ Memorial Reformed Church
595 Graafschap Rd
Holland, MI 49423
616-796-3351
billb@christmemorial.org