THE SACRAMENTAL JOURNEY

So, here we go. 2015.

The Sacramental Journey continues.

Back in the late 1990's, I was serving as a pastor in Alabama. I was searching for an image to capture my understanding of the Christian life. After much reflection and prayer, I landed on this one--a journey. Certainly not an earth-shattering discovery! It is a common way of expressing one's life experience. However, I decided to add one other concept to this common image--sacramental. After all, every one is on a journey of one sort or another. Christians are on a holy, sacred and spiritual journey.

The journey motif is poignant for me for a number of reasons. I was raised in Alabama by parents who were from neighboring Georgia. We traveled often back and forth to visit grandparents and other family members. Plus, my brothers and I were baseball players. Our family often could be found traipsing across the country to let us play in all kinds of tournaments and All-Star games.

We had a 1964 AMC Rambler Station Wagon with no air conditioning. Think about that. Driving across the south in the summer with two older brothers in a hot car does not create positive vibes associated with "journeys." We had to roll the windows down (that's right, we "rolled" them down by hand--a lost art today) just to keep the air circulating. However, sometimes the draft was so strong, it threatened to suck the skinny people clear out of the vehicle!

But, we didn't dare complain about the wind tunnel effect in the back of the car. Back then, our Dad smoked cigars--Roitans, King Edwards and Muriels. If we complained about the wind draft, he would make us roll up the windows. He would open those little "vent" windows in the front of the vehicle (you can Google that). Then there was enough second-hand smoke in the vehicle to justify three future lawsuits from his sons.

Then, of course, we brothers had imaginary lines drawn across the back of the Station Wagon that you couldn't cross. When one of us did so, we retaliated with whatever means necessary to protect our territory. If it got out of hand, Daddy would look back and utter those immortal words, "Don't make me pull this car over.

So, the idea of a journey hasn't always evoked the most positive of images for me personally. However, I would like to think I have dealt with my issues and progressed to a more mature understanding of the value of this motif.

Certainly the Bible uses this idea to illustrate human life on earth. The word "walk" appears over 200 times in the Bible. Often, this word refers to how we actually live our lives. For example, refer to Psalm 1, Genesis 5:24, 17:1 or Jeremiah 6:16. And, Jesus claimed He is The Way. In fact, often in Acts, Christians are referred to as "followers of The Way." You get the idea.

But, for Christians, we are not just on any journey; we are on a holy, sacred and spiritual journey. Hence, I have chosen the word sacramental to describe our journey. We are followers of The Jesus Way. This is a path of holiness and sanctity. The English word "sacrament" is derived from the Latin term sacramentum. This is a word rich in theological meaning. Prior to its usage in Roman Catholic theology, this word was used to translate the Greek term musterion (mystery). This Greek word is associated with the idea that God reveals Himself and His truth to His people. What was hidden has been made known by God.

This term also is connected to the root sacra - which means "holy" -- we get our word "sacred" from this root. For me, this is an excellent descriptive term for our distinctive journey as believers. We are called to a holy life that depends upon God's revelation of Himself.

So -- the Christian life is truly a Sacramental Journey. 

To be continued . . .