What if we took a sacramental view?

If we are a people of the holy water of baptism, how can we tolerate the water situation in Flint, MI?

It's always interesting a month or so after a conference, after the excitement and buzz has faded, recalling those eye-opening moments and ideas that are still vivid. It's curious which conversations really stick, word for word.

For me, having spent the last week of January with 270 Christian Formation peers, the questions posed by the Rev. Broderick Greer are ones that keep replaying in my mind. In addition to his keynote speech in which he shared his involvement in the work of social justice and racial reconciliation, he offered a workshop in which we considered viewing the world through a sacramental lens. What if we saw the gritty realities of life as sacred as the holy realities we seek in church and responded accordingly? Would our tolerance for suffering, pollution and misery be lessened?

The conversation was fascinating. A young priest with a scientific background explained that there is a finite amount of water on the earth. It's basic elementary school science: water just passes through an endless cycle of evaporation and rain. As such, every time that priest's child keeps the faucet running too long, as a dad and priest, he calls out, "Don't waste that water! You were baptized in that water! Jesus was baptized in that water!"

A young man from Arizona told the story of growing up in Navajo land where there is a geographic area in which the residents have no access to clean water. Mining has poisoned the rivers; fracking has caused land to shift and wells to dry up. "I understand the need for churches to sponsor well-digging missions in African," he said, "...but people don't realize that there are places in the U.S. facing similar hardships."

If all water is sacred, can we allow this to happen?

A similar conversation considered Holy Eucharist. If we are people of sacred bread and wine, if this food is indeed Christ's body and blood, then how can we allow food desserts to exist? How can we tolerate our brothers and sisters having only limited access to wholesome healthy food, relying on the nutritionally and spiritually bereft offerings of fast food joints and quick marts? The Rev. Nurya Love Parish asks on her Christian Food Movement blog:

• How can we re-imagine food systems in a way that more clearly reflects God’s reign?
• Where are the Christians working for a better food system, and how can I join them?
• Are there existing Christian food projects that I could replicate or adapt in my context?

I have no immediate answers to these questions, but I know that it will be worthwhile to explore them with the young people of St. Paul's. I'm always inspired and amazed at the capacity of children for spiritual depth and understanding, and in their creativity in tackling the problems that, too adults, seem almost insurmountable. I hope your family will begin to ask these questions too, and consider viewing the world through a sacramental lens.

Lisa Brown