Sanctuary

A holy place where God is present. In the wilderness, that was the tent of meeting; in the time of Solomon, it was the Temple at Jerusalem. In both places, the Lord’s presence was made visible as a pillar of smoke during the daytime and a pillar of fire at night.

(via The Harper Collins Bible Dictionary)

 

Psalm 27:4

One thing I asked of the Lord; this I seek:

to live in the house of the Lord all the days of my life,

to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to inquire in his temple.

 

Beyond Walls

As important as it is to mark the places where we meet God, I worry about what happens when we build a house for God. I am speaking no longer of the temple in Jerusalem but of the house of worship on the corner, where people of faith meet to say their prayers, because saying them together reminds them of who they are better than saying them alone. This is good, and all good things cast shadows. Do we build God a house so that we can choose when to go see God? Do we build God a house in lieu of having God stay at ours? Plus, what happens to the rest of the world when we build four walls-even four gorgeous walls-cap them with a steepled roof, and designate that the House of God? What happens to the riverbanks, the mountaintops, the deserts, and the trees? What happens to the people who never show up in our houses of God?

– Barbara Brown Taylor, An Altar in the World: A Geography of Faith (2009)                                                                                                                              

Reflection & Prayer

Think about the place(s) where you have most powerfully experienced the awareness of God’s presence. What about this place heightened your awareness? How can you foster similar awareness in your everyday life?