I experienced something sacred in a worship service the other day. The music was dramatic and artfully performed. The message was inspiring. The atmosphere was just the right temperature and the seats comfortable. I saw some friends there. But none of that was what struck me as most sacred. My wife and I were up in the higher seats, so it was several steps down from where we were to get back to the main floor. While the service was going on a teenage boy with a head full of fluffy brown hair jogged down the steps with his little sister as she held on to the railing with one hand and held on to him with the other hand. Her long thin hair and white dress billowed behind her as they took chunks of steps at a time.
He was going so fast that if she had let go of the railing or let go of her brother she would have fallen because they were going at his speed, not hers. I thought somebody probably asked him to take her to the bathroom, but he did not look annoyed. When they came back, they just strolled in together at a normal pace up the steps to where they had been seated. And I thought at the time that might be the most sacred thing I saw that day. Here is a brother loving his sister in his imperfect way and here's a sister receiving protection and love from her brother in her own unique way.
Of course, all of life is sacred, so all of that service was sacred. We are often unaware of the sacredness because we are wrapped up in our thoughts, worries or judgments.
Meanwhile in another room: Looking around it appears to be seven white people and a black woman, all in small bubbles with no one talking to the others. Each is occupying their time looking at their phone or something else. Music playing on the “Car Dealership Radio channel” is upbeat, dance type music. A woman in jeans and a logo T shirt has her gray hair pulled back in a curly ponytail. As she appears intently focused on the magazine in her hands, her head bobs just a bit to the music, up and down, then back and forth. She likes this Latin beat. Later when her name is called, her name is Hispanic though she does not outwardly appear so. Except for the grooving to the Latin sounds. I am so glad she let the music move her so that her body moved just a bit. It let me know, in this room where everyone is waiting and no one is interacting, we had a little knowing, a little seeing who this woman was more than her appearance. Though I didn’t reveal anything of myself, I am glad she did.
Are you looking? I don’t all the time, so no judgment here. But we can notice, we can look and see. See with your heart and head. See another human with life and feelings, hopes and struggles. Like yours or maybe different than yours. It’s a chance at a sacred encounter, seeing the divine, and seeing the human that reminds you that you are human, and loved by the divine. And these others around you, they are loved too, whether they know it or not.
Be present in the moments of your life. From your own life and in your own body you can live wide awake, not distracted and mindless. I challenge you to fight back against all the noise of marketing, your thoughts, worries or judgments.
And while the people around us sometimes reveal themselves, we can risk revealing ourselves too. We can participate in the sacred by just being ourselves… Pause for a moment. If you can, settle down your body and close your eyes. Relax. Then allow yourself to think of the times you feel unseen, those times when you are just a cog in the machinery or you are overlooked. What would you like in those moments? A kind word? Just a look directly in your eyes? A nod of the head? Imagine the feeling you have when you are seen, when you are known. Now consider when you are in places where you can give those things, the acknowledgement that says you matter, I notice you. How might you start? Consider a small step, not a reworking of your personality. Perhaps your nod, your kind words, your look into another’s eyes will allow you and the other to be acknowledged, both to be seen for the beloved children of God that you are.
Mark 9:36 says, (Jesus) took a little child whom he placed among them. Taking the child in his arms, he said to them, “Whoever welcomes one of these little children welcomes me"
