Sacred Sanctuary

At our church, it is customary to spend quite a bit of time before each service meeting with friends, talking about our week, our lives and our concerns. We talk about quite a bit about what the Lord has done for us, and what service we offer the Lord, but mostly we catch up on our daily life.

This got me thinking about my Mormon upbringing. In the Mormon church, there are certain ceremonies that are held at the Temple. People on the outside often make a big to-do about the secretive nature of these ceremonies. Mormons themselves are not permitted to speak openly of what goes on there. I submit that these ceremonies are secret because they are sacred. It's not that Mormons can't speak of these (I'm sure there are admonitions not to, but follow me here). Rather, because these ceremonies are indeed sacred, set apart, harm is done to the holiness and solemness of the encounter with God by publicly discussing what goes on in these sacred spaces.

In contrast, at our church, we take great pains (for good or ill, I'm unsure) to clearly avoid calling our "gathering place" a sanctuary. Rather, the space is simply called the auditorium. We tend to treat it like an auditorium too. It's a place of casual conversation, loud music and good-natured fellowship. It sometimes takes some time for people to transition from the horizontal into vertical worship.

I certainly do not want to press the point (because there is great value in a more casual church gathering), but it seems to me that something may be missed when people come to church and do not recognize the experience as "entering the sanctuary". When we bring our daily lives into a holy place, we may need more time to refocus our minds and hearts on the Lord. We may take for granted the fact that God wants to commune with us in a deep and real way. We may just distract others of the call God has for their lives for that very Sunday.

Just some thoughts . . .

Observe my Sabbaths and have reverence for my sanctuary. I am the LORD. (Leviticus 26:2)

Listen to me, Levites! Consecrate yourselves now and consecrate the temple of the LORD, the God of your fathers. Remove all defilement from the sanctuary. (2 Chronicles 29:5)

At Providence Portland's Chapel

I had a client today that I was supposed to meet at 9:00 AM today at Providence Portland, but somehow we missed each other. A co-worker said the client wouldn't be in for another half-hour, so I had a chance to spend some time in the chapel.

For the most part, I was alone for just a half hour, but it was a very good half hour. I tried to focus my mind on God, but ended up thinking about the job I was at the hospital for. With some effort, I was able to turn my mind toward a prayer for guidance and, through the swirling thoughts in my mind, I was aware of one thing I think I've never really understood about holy places: God is not more available or present in places set aside for "religious activities". Rather, I am.

It's easy to think that, perhaps, God isn't with us during our busy days. But it's clearer to me now that He really is. It's just that, here I am in my office, with my job notes, my humming computer, my books, my snacks, I don't have as much time for God as God has for me.