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| “Offering sanctuary is a revolutionary act; it expresses love, when others offer scorn or hate. It recognizes humanity, when others deny and seek to debase it. Sanctuary says 'we' rather than 'I'. It is belonging—the building block of community.” ― |
'17You blind fools! For which
is greater, the gold or the sanctuary that has made the gold sacred?
Space matters.
Yup, the universe. But that’s not what I mean.
What I mean are the spaces in our lives we occupy.
Having a sacred space is essential to me.
What is a sacred space? For me, a sacred space is a space I
have set aside to encounter the Divine.
The sanctuary in a church is a space set aside for worship.
You’re right, we don’t need sanctuaries to encounter the Divine. But as
a Christian, a sanctuary is where we worship, and worship is a space in time
when we set aside time to be together in community to share life, pray
together, listen to our sacred story and stories, celebrate the sacraments, and
acknowledge the graces in our lives.
Sanctuary.
I need sanctuary. A space to get away from it all. It
being the demands and busyness of life.
Sanctuary is where I can rest, connect with my True Self,
and be present before the Triune God.
We don’t need the things of our sacred spaces to encounter
the Divine, but they help. The bells and whistles of what we do engage the
entirety of ourselves and help us recognize we are a part of something Greater.
The problem I face in my life when it comes to sanctuary is when I become preoccupied
with the things of the space and not what the space cultivates.
For instance…
Many times I have not entered my sanctuary at home
because I did not have the right candle, incense, or music. This is silly,
right? I don’t need those things to find sanctuary. When this happens, I take
note because I’m usually using the absence of these items to avoid what the
sanctuary would help call forth. The clutter in my life.
Sanctuary.
The space we can enter into and be safe. Be ourselves. When we
can’t do this, we have lost sanctuary.
Think about land sanctuaries. These are spaces where animals
and plants can exist without threats from outside forces—usually humans. In
these spaces, the wildness of God is prevalent. People flock to these spaces
because they remove us from the mundaneness of life. We set aside these spaces
as a way to recognize their sacredness—their real state of existence.
Sanctuary.
What is your sanctuary? Where is your sanctuary?
God, prepare me to be a sanctuary.
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