I went on vacation last week, where a helpful bartender taught me to refer to my wife as "Mi guapa," meaning "my beautiful one" in Spanish. My wife and I had joined a group of friends, eleven of us in total. Together we sort of took over a seaside resort in a tropical area. It was, in its entirety, a thing of beauty; hence the theme of today's ponder. What is beautiful?
On vacation, each of my friends brought the party in their own way, and I couldn't have been more grateful to be in their company. It was beautiful.
You may know the experience of gathering with friends, and the appreciation I felt. You may argue that the word beautiful does not apply, but I think it's the right term. From the laughs we shared to winning the music trivia contest to watching our friend give the room upgrade we'd won for first place to a family with a child, it was all beautiful. The joy of the dance floor and the serenity of yoga were beautiful too.
Some will look out at a sunset, chase waves on a beach, or stare deeply into great works of art, searching out the awesome beauty of each in their aesthetics. I can't blame them, but I like to think beauty is at its greatest when it is found in one another, and more specifically in how we relate to one another.
That is to say, by getting to know someone, the details of their lives, that which feeds them, that which they find meaningful, their sources of joy, their struggles and their victories, therein we see the intricacies of a life: true beauty.
We may be mesmerized as we find that people are wonderfully made: creative, funny, odd, sarcastic, full of life, charming, charitable, and interesting. And we may find connection with those lives through our shared experiences, similarities, or interests. It feels divine.
I should probably stop there, but as a former preacher, I find it difficult to just shut up. I am a relational theologian. So I see the body of Christ likewise in that divine fellowship, and I see the Church of Christ as having been built on the stone of friendship.
Understood this way, the Church is not somewhere you go for an hour or two one day a week, but a recognition of the heart of fellowship that often exists within congregations and always exists among friends. This is, after all, one of the reasons I am drawn to my little meadery: for the joy of fellowship and the awesomeness of friendship.
Now that's a thing of beauty!
This week I'm pouring: Cupka's Cranberry Grapefruit. Pour a glass for the people who make your life beautiful.