Seeking Sanctuary amongst the pixels ...

I've been reflecting on the notion of whether or not we need a clergy union in this United Church of Canada ... I can't say I'm in favour of it, but I can't say I am as strongly opposed to it as I once was ... In many ways it would offer those of us who have run amuck of the status quo some protection and some advocacy that we are currently lacking ... but in many other ways it would just add to the already overwhelming bureacracy that impedes the work of the Kingdom to begin with ...

For me right now, what is vital and foremost is finding a place of sanctuary in the midst of a Church that is fast losing its way of faith ... My thinking today is simply this: where do we find Sanctuary ?? How do we live in Sacred space??

The image that has come to my mind today is that of Martin Luther King Jr sitting in a jail cell awaiting trial, or release or whatever ... in one of those moments he penned what is a watermark letter in the Civil Rights movement of the 1960's. His Letter from the Birmingham Jail, has always touched me deeply.

I can still remember the first time I read it in High School over 25 years ago and said to myself - "wow, this is GOOD stuff ..."

What has hung in with me over the years is the poigniant and powerful image of King saying to his detractors and critics - "how can you ask us to wait ???" He notes of the Civil Rights movement that it was inevitable because the blacks (and other minorities) of the US, we growing weary of waiting for justice, waiting for equality, waiting for fairness - they had grown weary of waiting ... And so the time to act had come.

The Church of the time was caught off guard. They wanted King and his fellow protestors to be patient and wait ... and King would have none of it ... He knew the time had come for decisive, co-ordinated and faithful action. The people of faith who said earnestly - "wait Mr King, just wait ..." couldn't grasp what they were asking - they couldn't see beyond their horizon. But thankfully King could see beyond the horizon, and to use a cliche: he had the courage to dream of what was to be ...

Similarly, Gandhi, the one from whom King drew his inspiration, also had the courage to ignore the voices that said - "Gandhiji, wait ... England will give India her independence, just wait ..." But Gandhi knew waiting wasn't an option ... He marched across the sub-continent, and in taking a defiant pinch of salt he altered the course of human history ...

I think the lesson we can draw from the examples of these men, and others like them, is two fold. One is - don't call on the prophets to wait - because when it is time, God's call to action will NOT be thwarted ... and the second lesson is the importance of sanctuary in the struggle for liberation and wholeness ... it is the importance of sacred space wherein we can find the call of God and gain the strength and courage to live it that we have overlooked in our spiritual journeys.

On February 12th, I lost my physical sanctuary ... the fire deprived me personally (as well as others) of a Church space wherein we could find safety, peace and refuge ... though, my personal loss had begun some weeks earlier as the sanctuary that was my office was taken from me ... the loss of the fire and the subsequent move to new quarters just deepened the loss ...

I generally don't work in my office ... my office space is where I pray, reflect and meditate ... surrounded by my books, mementoes and artifacts I find my centre for the work I do outside in the community. My office is the refuge from the storms of life and the struggles of faith ... In the film Romero, I remember the line spoken by Romero when he was elected Bishop - he noted "I am a man of books, I surround myself with them and their words and ideas ..." he noted he was now being called to action among the people; he was called to unfamiliar territory ...

That image has hung in with me because I too have found my sanctuary amongst my books ... in their words and ideas, and even their physical presence I find my peace (my shalom) to go back out into the unfamiliar territory of people, and to do what I am called to do ...

On February 12th the last sanctuary space I had - the place of comfort and refuge was lost ... even when my library was moved and unpacked - the space it sat in was not a sanctuary ... there was no peace or shalom ... I was left untethered and unanchored ...

Sanctuary is vital to spiritual health and vitality ... imagine the world if King and Gandhi, or Tutu or Mandela, or Mother Theresa could find no sanctuary from which to arise and head back into the world to fight the good fight ... Today I am charged with the task of discerning my call, and finding peace ... the challenge I face is doing those tasks with no place to serve as Sanctuary ...

Admittedly I am a person who sees life in the broad brush strokes - the bold splashes of colour that on a BIG screen tv make up the images that enlighten, educate and even entertain us ... I've come to appreciate lately that we live in a world where the tendancy is to see the tiny little pixels that comprise those broad brush strokes ...

For example - I remember thinking many years ago, how sad it was when a church made a decision that would cost them close to 60 000 dollars. The motion passed without a whisper of discontent, or dissension ... Then the next motion came forward in regards to paying an outstanding invoice of less then 30 dollars (a bill for an ad the minister they had just fired, had taken out in conjunction with the other United Churches in the area - but without consulting the "appropriate" people). Debate over whether or not to pay went on and on and on ... then finally one of the Board members stood up and put 20 dollars on the table in front of the chair ... "there he said - this should cover it ..." But then there ensued a 20 minute discussion on whether or not to accept the money ...

Such is the Church ... we will waste huge amounts of time on trivial things, while we leave the big picture issues untouched ... we focus on niceties rather then things like fairness, justice and equality ...

King and Gandhi and others from their place of sanctuary cried out to the people of God to stop focusing on the trivial, to stop avoiding the issues, to stop being complacent ... They called us to action ... Their cry still rings out - sadly though we've become more comfortable with those who say - "wait ..." and "not yet ..." and "maybe someday ..." rather then acting on our faith ...

We can not expect things to happen without God and we can not find God without a sanctuary ... it's a conundrum ... God is not in the details and the pixels - our God can not be contained in such small places ... Our God will be where our God will be ... the challenge is to find the sanctuary wherein we can rest in God's presence ...

... and today that is my prayer ...