By Ed Klodt
Is nothing
sacred?
That used to
be a popular refrain when I was growing up. It usually followed something
stupid my friends or I would do or say. Or perhaps after an uttered profanity.
The same
question could be posed today. But different time and different meaning.
With angrier
voices, coarser language and music, a greater gap between rich and poor, and
growing distrust of our government, businesses and religious institutions, have
we lost sight of the sacred? Do we pause to experience the holy amidst all the
noise of the culture? Have even our churches lost their sense of it in trying
to conform to the culture with the mistaken idea that it will attract more
members? Worship as a rock concert?
Old Testament
Israel had a deep sense of the sacred. God’s people built structures and altars
to house and honor the sacredness of the Almighty. From the ancient Tent of
Meeting to the Ark of the Covenant to the Temple, they created holy space where
God dwelled. They developed rules and regulations – too many, it turns out – to
become a holy people, a witness to other nations for the God they worshipped.
This, they hoped, was how holy people lived.
God tells
Moses and Aaron: “Say to the Israelites . . . I am the Lord your God;
consecrate yourselves and be holy, because I am
holy” (Lev. 11:1a, 44).
Is it time for
the people of God to rediscover holiness and seek out sacred moments?
Ascension’s sanctuary remodel goes beyond
pews and carpeting. We are beautifying the central meeting space in which we
worship God. We gather there as God’s people to honor and glorify him. He is
present with us in that place. A glorious God who not even Moses could look in
the face deserves a glorious space in which to be worshipped.
On September
16th, we move our worship services back into our “new” sanctuary. God’s
sanctuary. What if we treated that new space as sacred right from the moment we
first walk in? We no longer look at it as simply a place to hear a great
sermon, to experience great music or to simply go through the formalities of
worship. Instead we come to honor God, to experience his love in the fellowship
of our fellow Christ followers and to be strengthened in whatever challenges
life throws at us.
Perhaps this
sanctuary again becomes holy ground.
Moses first
encountered God through a burning bush. As he approached the bush, Moses was
told, “Take off your sandals for the place you are standing is holy ground”
(Exod. 3:5). By removing his shoes, Moses honors the sacredness of his
encounter with the Almighty. It’s symbolic, of course. God has nothing against
shoes or sandals. Rather, he’s asking Moses to do something out of the ordinary
to honor this direct encounter with a holy, perfect God. It’s a sacred moment.
What if we
were to do the same on September 16th as we reenter the sanctuary? In the act
of removing our shoes we remind ourselves of God’s holiness and how
life-changing it is to enter his presence. We strip away every thought and
action that diminishes a holy God when we treat him as simply a best buddy or a
convenient butler in the sky to cater to our whims and desires. After all, he’s
God. He’s holy. All “salvation and glory and power” are his” (Rev. 19:1).
Nothing may be
sacred. But Someone is.
© Ed Klodt,
2018
(Views from
the Pews are occasional insights written by Ed Klodt. He and his family are
longtime members of Ascension. Ed earned his Master’s Degree in Theology from
Fuller Theological Seminary, has served as an interim pastor and has been a
longtime lay minister at Ascension. Questions and insights can be addressed to
him in the blog post on Ascension’s website or at jonahfactor@gmail.com.)
There is so much noise around us every day, it is difficult to find enough quiet to make way for the sacred. Sometimes getting away seems like the only solution.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you, Anon. That’s one of the blessings in weekly worship, isn’t it? An opportunity to step out of the hamster wheel of life and engage with God alongside of others. That in itself makes our sanctuary holy ground for me. Thanks for your comment. -ed
ReplyDeleteIt seems like an important line to draw. If holy means "set apart and dedicated to God" as I understand that it means, then the Sanctuary needs to be seen as more than just a building. It is special. There is something different about it. People should be more mindful in there, not casual, not superficial, not phony or silly. It is a building but more than a building. There is awe. There is mystery.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your thoughtful and inspiring reflection Ed!