The history of
almost every religion begins with one massive misperception; it begins by
making a fatal distinction between the sacred and the profane. Low-level
religions put all their emphasis on creating sacred places, sacred time, and
sacred actions. While I fully appreciate the need for this, it unfortunately
leaves the majority of life "un-sacred." I remember reading about an
Irish missionary's attempt to teach the Masai people about the Catholic
Sacraments. The missionary said that a sacrament is a physical encounter or
event in which you experience Grace or the Holy. The people were then confused
and disappointed when they were told there were only seven such moments. One
Masai elder raised his hand and said, "We would have thought, Father, there
would be at least seven thousand such moments, not just seven."
Richard
Rohr, Blog, 2/17/16
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It is an
important question…
where is that
place where sacred and profane meet?
where sacred
shines through,
where we can
catch a glimmering, glistening momentary
flash of
holiness?
is it, as the
priests of Israel insisted,
on Mount Zion, in
that place behind the veil?
on the seat of
mercy?
is in the
cathedral
or country
church,
where prayers are
often spoken
and sometimes
left unspoken?
Is God present in
the chalice upheld,
“behold the cup
of the new covenant!”
Is the meeting
place where mountains thrust boldly into azure blue,
or where sky and
land greet each other at the rising
or the setting of
the sun?
is it in the
journey of the stars across the sky?
or is that place
where heaven and earth collide
in the grasp of a
baby’s hand,
or in the smile
of a child?
or perhaps, in
the drop of a quarter into the cup of a homeless man?
in words of
forgiveness
in our welcome of
the immigrant
in our acceptance
of that person so different from ourselves
perhaps it is
found
when we feed the
hungry
protect the child
lift up the
elderly
value the poor
Where do heaven
and earth meet?
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