P.S. Don't Forget
Hebrews 13:1-8, 15-16
I was thinking about the issue of sacred space this week as I watched the ongoing debate about the Muslim community center that is proposed for lower Manhattan near the World Trade Center site. I have to confess that I find the whole thing to be rather infuriating, especially when the thin veneer of well-rehearsed sound bites still can’t conceal the underlying bigotry of the opposition to the project. The news media have only enflamed the fear when they talk about the ground zero mosque. The facility will actually be two blocks from “ground zero”. Those opposed to the community center say that this is sacred space to honor their loved ones who died on September 11th. I get that the World Trade Center is now a part of our national legacy and history. The proposed community center is on Park Avenue two blocks away. I just wonder if the liquor stores, restaurants and adult paraphernalia shops in the same block as the community center are also offensive to their sense of sacred space they envision around the former Trade Center site. If it were three blocks away, would it be fine? Four blocks? Or is it simply that it is a community center for people who follow Islam? The terrorists who attacked all of us on 9-11 no more represent the vast majority of Muslims than Fred Phelps represents Christians or Madonna represents Jews. How come we can clearly see that when it comes to Christians but not for Muslims?
This whole on-going national debate is a perfect opportunity for us to learn more about our Muslim neighbors and to practice our progressive Christian hospitality of honoring the lives and contributions of others even when someone is not like us. That is why when I heard that Dr. Ibrahim Jaffe, a teacher with the Shadhilliyya Sufi Center was going to be in town, I wanted to have him here at AGC so we can be part of the national process of talking to each other instead of simply about each other. Dr. Jaffe will be here September 23rd, a Thursday night at 7PM and I hope you’ll put that date on your calendar. This will be an opportunity for our faith community to create sacred and safe space for both Muslims and Christians, because, after all, the God Muslims call on is the same God we call on.
So, this brings us back to the question of how do we define sacred space? It’s kind of like that old adage, “We know it when we see it.” We talk about worship as being sacred space and there is certainly an energy that we experience and a depth that we plumb during worship that happens in few other places. We have created a beautiful sanctuary, nice cramped pews and lovely carpet to enhance our experience of sacred space but probably most of us would not identify those objects as the essence of sacred space. At its core, sacred space is the place we encounter the holy but that place is more than physical location. It is deeply personal and yet something that happens best in community. We are moved to action by it and know that when it happens we have been in the presence of God. Sometimes it causes tears, sometimes laughter. Sometimes we want to shout and other times we are silenced by the magnitude of the moment surrounding us. It is especially poignant at pivotal moments in the life of our community together – like when the I-35W bridge fell or when freedom was extended through the Emancipation Proclamation or when a war ends. None of those sacred spaces are overtly religious and yet they cause us to pause and reflect on the magnitude of the moment. Lots of time we do it without even thinking about it. When I join a family at the bedside of someone passing from life to death, there is a sacred space that is created that holds the loved one and those who risked their own discomfort to be present. Sacred space is not always easy or even joyful but it always seems to be instructive. I think that is why we become so protective of incursions into our sacred space moments.
Our text from Hebrews is encouraging us to become more aware of how those moments are created in the life of the faith community. According to the writer of Hebrews, they happen when we love each other, show kindness to strangers, care for the prisoner and mistreated, honor the vows we make to those we love, resist the lure of money and share the wealth of our lives with generosity. The writer of Hebrews attached these ideas at the end of a long letter outlining what it means to live a faithful life. It was a common practice in the day to end a letter with lots of reminders. It feels almost like an afterthought but maybe instead it was more like a P.S. We use P.S. in letters to call special attention to something. It is a signal that something is important. Pay attention to this. Don’t forget this. I get the impression that this is what this part of the Hebrews letter is telling us. These last thoughts would be the ones the reader is left with after the letter.
Let us also heed these instructions. Pay attention this week to the moments of sacred space where you find them. What are you learning about yourself or someone else in those moments? Where is God in that space? Has sacred space been happening and you missed it? Maybe it is around the dinner table when the events of the day are being shared. Maybe it is during the greeting with a friend you haven’t seen in a while who holds a special place in your heart. Maybe it is during the quiet drive to work where you are alone with God and your thoughts. Certainly it is in worship when we gather to praise and pray, celebrate and remember, ponder and act. Sacred space occurs at any moment that we recognize the presence of God with us.
This past week I was asked to present at an HIV conference hosted by the Urban League. Congressman Keith Ellison was the keynote speaker at the event and I noticed that he did something that day with the group gathered that I often do with you. He was talking about the challenges to healthcare in the political process. Each time someone raised a question or noted an obstacle, he would suggest a way to carry it to the next level and ask them if they could do that. It could be to write their congressional delegation or picket the governor or challenge a hospital’s policy. I heard him calling that group as individuals and as a community to put their passion into action. He didn’t want us to just sit in a room and complain about the world, he wanted us to be part of making the better world happen. I could feel the discomfort of some in the room because let’s face it – it is a whole lot easier to complain about something than work to fix it.
I know I do that to you sometimes. It is important to our spiritual health that we explore those amazing, pivotal, uncomfortable, sacred spaces in our lives. You’ll know it when it happens, if you’re paying attention, so don’t forget. This life isn’t a trial run. It is the real thing. The biggest room in the house is the room for improvement so there are lots of ways we can make this world a better place. Let God’s grace seep into the moments of your day – those amazing, pivotal, uncomfortable, important sacred spaces. Then listen to what the Presence of God is calling you to do and be to turn that sacred space into an act of justice, an act of faith or an act of compassion.
Sources:
www.homileticsonline.com In Prison and You Visited Me, August, 2010
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