January 5, 2026

At church, in the moment of the Eucharistic host bread or communion wafer being broken in two, this is the moment when Christ left his earthly body at the Crucifixion. In that moment is ultimate pain and ultimate joy, joined together in one moment, co-emergent.  At the Crucifixion, this moment, like nuclear fission that releases tremendous energy from an atom, spread throughout Creation, flipping and converting every phenomenon to be reoriented toward God. 

When Jesus broke bread and shared it with his disciples at the Last Supper, he was sharing his love in a very physical form. At the same time, his love encompassed all of Creation and converted every part of Creation to be sacred and sacramental.

In our meditation or prayer practice, we can rest in tremendous peace, and within that, noisy children or roaring trucks are no obstacle but are welcomed in as the liveliness of phenomena within that peaceful space. 

As spiritual seekers, what is our relationship with the physical world and with those close to us who are more oriented to physical realities?  When Jesus rode the donkey into Jerusalem, the donkey was happy to feel his love but certainly was not thinking lofty spiritual thoughts. Yet in that moment, Jesus needed the donkey to achieve his mission.  The donkey was integral to his path.

How often in the past two thousand years has a woman in the kitchen been quietly practicing prayer and connected with the sacred, while her spouse had no idea? And all was well. How often was the laborer immersed in prayer, but his boss didn’t know?  As Jesus said, pray in secret where only the Father knows. Others don’t need to know.

When we sit and pray, turning our hearts toward God, the phenomena of physical Creation turn towards God too. Amen.