Sacred. Highly valued. Most important thing. Precious gem.
We recognize these things, these relationships, these values, don’t we? And what if the sacred is hiding?
Behind the gruff exterior.
Inside those sad eyes.
Underneath those gestures, that gate so slightly different.
What if the sacred takes cover under an unpretty face, inside an unhandsome body?
Will we see it? Can we allow it? Do we dare reach out to touch it residing in a hand we would not otherwise choose to hold?
The sacred might be hiding in a form that we dare not look at, in a place or a person who seems too exotic, too alluring, an attraction that feels more like danger than an invitation.
Sometimes the sacred hides and it calls out to us to come and see. Come and find. Come and listen. Come and feel. Come and taste. Come and inhale divine spirit. To do that, we must be willing to risk . . .
. . . depth, communion, intimacy and knowing that might at first leave us wishing that we had not.
It is safer not to seek out the sacred. And duller. And more easy to control the world around us, which would be great in a world where we alone were god. And, we’ve likely all seen glimpses of the hell that would result were we alone god.
And so the Sacred hides–just underneath the next thing, the next one who catches our eye with a reaction. Look a little more. Listen. Touch. Taste. Smell. Ask. Feel. Wonder. Wander. Allow and honor. But, don’t walk past. Don’t ignore.
The Sacred hides, waiting to be found. Today.
Bob Patrick
What if God was one of us? Just a slob like one of us? Just a stranger on the bus trying to make his way home?
I love that song, Lorena! When it first came out, I was teaching theology in a Catholic High School in Birmingham. Used it in my social justice course frequently over the years. Thank you for reminding me.