The Scripture passages this week are:
- Genesis 2:18-24
- Ecclesiastes 4:7-12
Early Thoughts: I am reminded of a line about 4-wheel church members -- that is they come to church in a carriage/stroller (baptism) in a limo (wedding) and then in a funeral coach. A less formal way of saying it is "hatch, match, dispatch". There is something about these life transitions that calls out for a spiritually-based recognition. Something about them that is in fact sacramental.
One of the more common definitions of a Sacrament is that it is a visible sign of an inward grace. While the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox traditions name 7 Sacraments, within the Protestant tradition the only 2 things called Sacraments are Baptism and Communion/Eucharist/Lord's Supper as they are both linked to the life of Jesus as shared in the Gospel accounts. But it is my opinion that even things that are not called Sacraments are still sacramental. Deep, mutually supportive, loving relationships can be things that reveal God's love and grace and so I consider them in that category.
For me the sacramental nature of relationship is not in the legal status. While I think that God celebrates when we bind ourself to another in a covenanted relationship I am not at all sure God worries about what the state calls it. There is an historic role for the church to serve in part as an agent of the state in formalizing relationships in the form we call marriage, to me the spiritual discussion is about how the relationship is lived out. What does it mean to live into a sacramental relationship with another, a relationship where God's love and grace are made real in our interactions?
It is my belief that humanity is pretty much hard-wired to live in relationship. For most of human history we have seen that life is simply easier (and maybe better?) when shared with others. That is part of what I see in the Scripture readings for this week. They talk about the benefits of being in relationship. [The other place I went looking for a possible reading was 1 Corinthians 7 where Paul expounds on whether followers of Christ should be married or not but while it is certainly interesting reading it was hard to pull out a few verses to summarize his argument.]
In the end I think we celebrate and covenant relationship in the church for a variety of reasons. Some of those are traditional. Some of those are morally based. Some of those are simply because we know that relationship seems to be God's intention for us. Life is somehow (usually) better and easier when it is shared. God is made real in the love we share with each other. Sharing a life, whether is a friendship or in a marriage relationship is rarely perfect or easy. It requires us to open ourselves to the other and to be vulnerable. But it is worth celebrating. It is a sign of Divine love.
SO I return to the question I asked earlier:
What does it mean to live into a sacramental relationship with another (as friend or lover or spouse), a relationship where God's love and grace are made real in our interactions?
--Gord
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