A Glimpse of the Sacred

The reverent among us possess excellent vision. They have trained themselves to see God's Spirit and his handiwork. They know the sacred when they see it, and the sacred is that in which God is found. With a finely tuned lens, there is much to see. Typically, we connect the sacred with holiness, righteousness, purity--and these are good associations--but we shouldn't miss other aspects of the sacred: God's love, light, meaning and goodness, the genius of human genomes, the beauty of an owl's whispering flight, the privilege of practicing mercy. Noticing God is noticing all of God that we can see, especially his holiness. (Greg Spencer, Westmont College Magazine, Fall 2010, p 14-15)

 I came across these words this morning. I needed them. Somehow, like misplacing my spiritual glasses, in the midst of life's bustle my vision gets blurry. God's spirit and his handiwork get fuzzy. Sometimes I overlook the sacred altogether, even if it is close by.

Mr. Spencer's words reminded me of the experience my husband and I had a few days ago shortly before dawn. We were in the bedroom of our suburban home when we heard the unmistakable hoot of an owl, very close. We tried to be silent as we moved our heavy wooden window shades to look for him. We finally spotted him, sitting at the peak of our neighbor's roof, a majestic outline against the pre-dawn sky. We whispered excitedly to each other, in awe. The huge bird sat motionless except for turning his head and making that unmistakable deep call. After a minute or two he disappeared silently into the black. We grinned at each other in the semi-darkness. Both of us delighted with the unexpected moment of awe, a glimpse of the sacred.