In his book Streams of Living Water, Richard J Foster suggests that sacramental living is manifest firstly through our corporate worship of our God and secondly through our material living.
There are many different ways people worship their God. We do it by using material and human forms whether by singing hymns or burning candles, dancing in ecstatic praise or bowing in speechless adoration. We also use the cross and a dove as symbols of holy presence. The sacramental emblems in the communion service are also a focus to lead us into God’s presence.
Monastics rise to recite the Night Office, Quakers wait in silent assurance upon the Spirit, Catholics pray the rosary and revivalists sing hymns of devotion to the name of Jesus, the Russian Orthodox use the rituals of bowing amid incense and icon and Salvation Army evangelists march to drum and tambourine. As finite human beings, these suggested material and human forms are the only tangible things we have to express ourselves through forms of worship.
Our material living is what we bring into our daily lives: into our homes, our work, our relationships with children, spouse and friends and neighbours and yes, even our enemies. This is the arena of everyday life. It is the place in which we make visible and manifest the invisible realm of the spirit.
To move into this sacramental way of living, we must take deep into our heart and mind Paul’s words, “And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him” (Col.3:17).
Jesus Christ is the real life example who stands out above all others in living a spirit-filled life. However, I want to focus our attention on a little known person from the Bible who also demonstrated the qualities and practical expression in his work of this type of living.
The children of Israel had been led into the wilderness by Moses after escaping the domination of the Egyptians. Here they are a homeless, nomadic multitude, camping out in the wilderness of Sinai for nearly a year. Through Divine cooperation a strange looking portable contraption was built that served no apparent military or civic purpose. This building was the Tabernacle and, inside it, was the abode of the Ark of the Covenant. God had allowed his glory to be “housed” in the Tabernacle.
Right at the centre of this strange scene is one individual, Bezalel. In fact, he is called out by name: “The Lord spoke to Moses: See, I have called by name Bezalel…and I have filled him with the spirit of God, with ability, intelligence, and knowledge in every kind of craft, to devise artistic designs, to work in gold, silver, and bronze, in cutting stones for setting, and in carving wood, in every kind of craft” (Exod. 31:1-5).
God chose a skilled artisan and had him use his artistry to show forth God’s manifest presence to the Israelites. Note that Bezalel was described not only as a skilled artisan but also as one “filled with the spirit of God.”
But Bezalel was not alone in his work. He had an assistant, Oholiab, who was described as an “engraver, designer, and embroiderer in blue, purple, and crimson yarns, and in fine linen” (Exod. 38:23). And God inspired Bezalel to teach other skilled workers so that a goodly number were involved in the building of the Tabernacle (Exod. 35:34). In addition the people were urged to bring precious metals and cloths, spices, oils, incense and precious stones to assist in building the Tabernacle.
With all the talents and qualities Bezalel possessed he had the ability to oversee the building of the Tabernacle – making present and visible the realm of the invisible spirit. And, we are to be the dwelling place of the Holy Spirit, making the reality of God visible and manifest everywhere we go and in everything we do.
In his book, Encounters in Silence, referring to encountering God in his life, Karl Rahner, SJ, reflects, “If there is any path at all on which I can approach You, it must lead through the middle of my very ordinary daily life” (St. Augustine’s Press, 1999, p. 54).
The spiritual and material are not in opposition to one another, but are complimentary.
We are created so as to receive life from God, who is Spirit, and to express that life through our bodies and in the physical world in which we live. The material world is created, in part, so as to make visible and manifest the realm of the invisible spirit.
We must not dismiss material things as inconsequential for the material world is intended to enhance human life. It is also the realm or the place where we are to develop our spirit under God.
Bill Gillard