The Sacrament of God's Presence

Jesus is the Sacrament of God.  In Him, the love of God is made visible and accessible.  In Him, we can enter into the inner life of God, into His thoughts and feelings, into the inner dynamic of the Trinity: Father, Son, and Spirit.  In Jesus, we can enter into the relationship of God to the world of mankind.

There is no other way; there is no one else on earth or in history that "owns" the nature and inner life of God Himself. 

Someone once asked why the Jews were the "chosen people;" what about the rest of us?  (As if we are more liberal and generous in our thinking than God is in His!)  The answer, of course, though it could be phrased in many different ways, is that the Jews were chosen to be a sacrament of God's love to all mankind.  It was not enough that Abram should be called "exalted father," the meaning of his name in Hebrew; he was to be called "Abraham," the father of nations, of many peoples.  He (and his descendents) were to be a light to the nations around them, to embody what it means to live in covenant with the Almighty, to be His people.  Their light was to shine to all in the house (planet Earth), to those far off.

Today, Abraham is considered the father of all three major world religions---Jews, Christians, Arabs/ Muslims.  In him, all acknowledge God's presence to mankind.  But Abraham was only a foreshadowing of what was to come in Christ Jesus.  What the Jews only poorly understood is now fully revealed.  Abraham was but one when he was called, but out of his relationship with God came many peoples.  How that came about is still a mystery.  If anyone had told the Jews before Jesus that their special relationship to God would open to all men everywhere, they could not have comprehended.  But the Gift given to them was never meant to be restricted to them alone.  To this day even, that is why one does not have to be born a Jew to become a Jew. 

As all religions today claim entrance into relationship with God through Abraham, so it is with Jesus Christ, the Sacrament of God's Presence to mankind.  Through Him, the Father is made known to us in a way that we can taste, see, and feel.  Through Him, we are made known to the Father, and accepted as part of the family of God.  If anyone does not know Jesus, he does not know the Father either. 

How, then, is that "fair"?  We don't know, any more than the Jews knew how their relationship with God through Abraham would be made available to the world at large.  But what we do know is that God wishes all men to be saved---and His "wishes" are not ineffectual, but full of power and wisdom.  As we worship Him, acknowledging His wisdom and power, we come more and more to understand and trust what He tells us.  If our relationship with Him is true, He will make us also 'sacraments' of His Presence to the world at large.