Sacramental Living

During the past year I’ve spent in exile, I’ve dreamed of what will be when …

…when we are in different surroundings, or

…when we get back on our feet, or

…when I start (and hopefully complete) my PhD work, or

…when, when, when

Each time that sense of longing for a different future arises, the Spirit has a way of directing me back to the present.  And I’m blessed to remember (again) that God’s goodness is not out there somewhere, but right here, right now.

A passage of Scripture I’ve been meditating on daily this month will be a lifelong touchstone for remembering God’s goodness.

I’d like to share it with you.

“If you get rid of unfair practices, quit blaming victims, quit gossiping about other people’s sins,

If you are generous with the hungry and start giving yourselves to the down-and-out,

Your lives will begin to glow in the darkness, your shadowed lives will be bathed in sunlight.

I will always show you where to go. I’ll give you a full life in the emptiest of places—firm muscles, strong bones.

You’ll be like a well-watered garden, a gurgling spring that never runs dry.

You’ll use the old rubble of past lives to build anew, rebuild the foundations from out of your past.

You’ll be known as those who can fix anything, restore old ruins, rebuild and renovate, make the community livable again.”

–YHWH, The LORD our God as rendered in Isaiah 58.9-12

The goodness described here is a very specific goodness, from a very specific God, in a specific context.  This specificty requires my response and involvement; and the involvement of my family and community.  This specificity graces me with light and thanks.

–

Brian Niece
www.brianniece.com
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