Liturgy and Sacrament

What's Your Next Step? Think Sacramentally!
 
Our liturgical celebrationss of the sacraments, especially the sacrament of the Eucharist, are one of the two primary ways that we encounter God together as God's people, the other way being the Scriptures. In each of the sacraments, we are given a dense and illuminative picture of what God  has done in Jesus, what God  is doing right now through the Spirit of Jesus, and what God will do in the futurethrough our work (by making us one in Jesus). Past, present, and future all come together as we encounter the assuring presence of God in the liturgical rituals of the Church. 

Our promise of these things, what God does in the past, present, and future, is given to us every week when we come together to celebrate the Sunday Eucharist. To be a disciple of Christ is to count on this promise, every day, letting it fill our hearts with hope -- and to express this hope through the quality of each of our encounters with others. Thus, in all of our liturgies, we remember what has been, we experience what is, and we imagine what might be.

From the act of creation to the giving of a moral law to the incarnation, passion, death, and resurrection of Jesus, God has been at work guiding humanity through darkness and danger.

• Take a minute and consider what God has done for us in the past. Let this sink in, how firmly we have been resting in God's hands, despite the flux around us.

All of the good things we experience, from the constant rhythm of our breathing to the relationships that provide us with the sustenance andlove we need, God is in our midst, willing them for us from moment to moment. At any instant of the day, by remembering God, we have access to God's light and assurance. And even when we forget, God remains. 

• Take another minute and consider all that God is doing, right now.

The Scriptures assure us that what we can imagine pales incomparison to what God has planned for those who come to live in God's love.

• Take a final minute and consider what God might do for us, from the next few hours to the end of our lives.  Let yourself wonder what blessings God might have in store for you and for those you love. Let this wonder turn into a brief prayer, thanking God ahead of time.