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Today I’d like us to listen to some very old words. Sometimes the old ones are the best ones. Augustine of Hippo, one of the Christian faith’s most profound thinkers, wrote them in the fifth century. But in this excerpt from his book The City of God, his brilliance is not on display. God’s is.
Shall I speak of the manifold and various loveliness of sky, and earth, and sea; of the plentiful supply and wonderful qualities of the light; of sun, moon, and stars; of the shade of the trees, of the colors and perfume of flowers; of the multitude of birds, all differing in plumage and in song; of the variety of animals, of which the smallest in size are often the most wonderful, of the works of ants and bees astonishing us more than the huge bodies of whales?
Shall I speak of the sea, which itself is so grand a spectacle, when it arrays itself as it were in vestures of various colors, now running through every shade of green, and again becoming purple or blue?
What shall I say of the numberless kinds of foods to alleviate hunger, and the variety of seasonings to stimulate the appetite which are scattered everywhere by nature, and for which we are not indebted to the art of cookery? How many natural appliances are there for preserving and restoring health?
How graceful is the alteration of day and night! How pleasant the breezes that cool the air! How abundant the supply of clothing furnished us by trees and animals! Can we enumerate all these blessings we enjoy?
With these worshipful words, Augustine calls attention to the touch of God in things big and small, remarkable and commonplace. He sees more than what meets the eye. He doesn’t take this God-created world for granted. As the old song says, he “counts his many blessings, names them one by one.” But he’s not surprised “what the Lord has done.” He has the eyes to see and the heart to give thanks.
Jesus helps us see the touch of God in plain unleavened bread and the common mealtime drink. We look at bread and cup but we see body and blood. We eat and drink in the usual way but we receive the unusual, something touched by God.
Sometimes the old words are the best. Here are a few more: “The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ?” (1 Corinthians 10:16, King James Version).
So we drink and eat, and yes, we are blessed.
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