Dear saints,

In the early fifth century, bishop and theologian Augustine of Hippo wrote, "Receive what you are and become what you receive." Augustine was referring to the sacrament of the Eucharist. He goes on in his sermon: "If you, therefore, are Christ's body and members, it is your own mystery that is placed on the Lord's table! It is your own mystery that you are receiving! You are saying 'Amen' to what you are." What a wonderful image that is: that we place our own mystery on the table of the Lord's supper, our own lives on the altar. Receive your own mystery. 

Now, I'll probably get into some sort of ecclesiastical trouble for saying this, but what if everything is a sacrament? Augustine says that sacraments are called such "because in them one thing is seen, while another is grasped." I don't know about you, but I find the beauty of the trees in Piedmont Park something I can no doubt see, yet the extent of their glory is far beyond my grasp. I feel the same way about the beauty of the human eye, or as a self-avowed soccer nut, a glorious 50-yard pass that lands on the boot of a teammate is for me proof of the afterlife. Today, we have the chance to see something rare and wonderful in a total solar eclipse, something that won't be seen for another 20 years in this part of the world. Talk about beyond our grasp—not how it happens, but the vastness of space it represents. 

This is a time for wonder. On Sunday, we'll be serving up another sacrament of the church: Trav Carter's ice cream. It is an act of bribery, plain and simple. We'll give you sumptuous ice cream Sundaes if you fill out a Future of Our Block survey. I think Augustine would have been fine with it. He was all for drawing people into the Body of Christ. The sacramental gift of ice cream is in how it helps us to delight. I delight in ice cream sundae toppings. I especially like gummy worms—a sign and foretaste of the kingdom where we will receive the fullness of the gaze of the God who delights in us. As Jesuit priest Gregory Boyle puts it, "God is too busy delighting in us to have time to be disappointed." 

So, come to the other sacramental feast on Sunday in Ellis Hall following the 9:00 a.m. service. Eat some really good ice cream, draw to mind all you delight in about this place and think of all you wonder about for our future. And while you are at it, let the rector know that he might be due some corrective night classes at divinity school. 

See you by the gummy worms and chocolate sauce.