The Sacredness of All That Is

In this ancient tale of Jacob, we find a profound revelation that echoes through the ages. Jacob, resting his head upon a simple stone, finds himself in the midst of a divine encounter. A ladder stretches from the earth to the heavens, angels ascending and descending. And there, in that moment, YHWH, the God of his ancestors, stands before him.

"I am YHWH, the God of Abraham your father, and the God of Isaac," the divine voice declares. "I will give to you and your descendants the land on which you lie. Be sure that I am with you."

Imagine the awe that must have gripped Jacob. Awakening from his sleep, he utters, "Truly, God is in this place and I, I did not know." Fear and wonder fill his heart as he proclaims, "This is nothing less than a house of God, this is the gate of heaven!"

In the ritual of anointing, the sacredness of reality is revealed. The stone, now christened Beth El, signifies the house of God. From this moment, the recognition dawns that the world is not devoid of the divine, but rather, it is soaked with Presence from its very inception.

Throughout the Bible, we witness the unfolding awareness of God's all-pervasive Presence. The anointing oil does not create sacredness; it merely reminds us of what has always been true. Yet, too often, we confine this sacred anointing to the person of Jesus, limiting the divine presence to certain places or individuals.

But the truth, as Paul illuminates, is that creation itself is infused with the divine. Every atom, every creature, every human being bears the imprint of the divine, like an electron planted in the fabric of existence. "Creation retains the hope of being freed," Paul writes, "to enjoy the same freedom and glory as the children of God."

Sadly, many of us were not taught to see the world this way. We imposed our limited judgments, deciding who is anointed and who is not. We polluted the earth, harmed creatures, and judged others based on our narrow understanding.

But the reality is that all of creation, all of humanity, is anointed. There are no exceptions. Our Christian understanding names this anointed reality "Christ" — not limited to a single person, but encompassing all. Christ is the presence of the divine that permeates every corner of existence, from the beginning of time.

So let us awaken to the sacredness of all that is. Let us recognize the divine spark in every being, in every creature, in every atom of this universe. For in doing so, we honor the true meaning of anointing — that all of reality is christened from the very beginning.