Beauty and Sacramental Gestures


One of the most beautiful, grace-filled passages of the Bible:The woman who wiped Jesus’ feet with precious nard and flowing hair is simply sacramental, exquisite, and selfless. In short it is a gesture which carries meaning in expanding ripples which lap the shore of my soul.
Br.Geoffrey Tristram of SSJE preaches these words:
“The woman who pours costly oil on Jesus’ feet doesn’t just drop a few drops on – she smashes the whole neck of the bottle and pours the whole lot over Jesus. What a waste! But that’s what God’s love for us is like – lavish, overflowing with generosity – beyond what is rational, beyond what we can comprehend: so much does he love us that he allows his son to die on the cross for us. Love without measure.”
To me this demonstrates at least three things about Beauty. 
Beauty and generosity are intimately entwined. God’s generosity revealed in creation meets human generosity and stewardship.
Beauty tends toward the arc of precious and cherished aspects of life. It is a lot harder to surrender that which is dear to us, yet a love and care is revealed in so doing. 
And finally, Beauty is quite simply Sacrament itself. It is the outward and visible manifestation of the inward and invisible grace of God. Be it love or mercy or care or tenderness or gentleness or generosity or kindness, Beauty signals and points to those numinous gifts. 
In sum, the sacrament of gesture here is generous, precious, holy and Beautiful.

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