Sunday, February 2, 2020. Rev. Dr. Scott Ramsey, preaching.Scripture Readings: Colossians 1:15-20; John 2:13-22

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SERMON TEXT

We are continuing our 4-week sermon series on the

Intersections of Heaven and Earth. We began a couple of weeks ago with a

consideration of the mobile Old Testament symbol of the tabernacle. Last week, Pastor Jen led us in reflections on the good

news around the established temple in

the holy city of Jerusalem. Today, we are reflecting on the ways that Jesus

himself becomes the foundational intersection of heaven and earth for the

church, and next week, Pastor Annamarie will bring it home as we consider ways

that the church itself embodies and practices the intersections of heaven and

earth.

We have spoken about how the Celtic Christians spoke of these intersections between heaven and earth as “thin places,” places where the boundary or veil between heaven and earth seems to become almost transparent. Special locations (maybe the beach or the mountains) can be thin places for some, where we are conscious that we are close to that which is transcendent. Being present at the birth of a child is a thin place for very many people, as is being present at the time of death.

What is it that happens at thin

places? When we become aware that we are at a thin place, time can feel like it

slows down. Heaven and earth seem to align. We are consciously in the presence of

the sacred, which has a healing effect, a forgiving and accepting effect on us.

When we are in a thin place, the things we have done that are not congruent

with God or with love or with grace, those things are exposed, which can be

uncomfortable, but they are also loosened up, so that we can get – even if for

just a moment – some space from them. We are less driven by fear and anxiety in

thin places; we are less driven by greed or grasping, and we can become more

accepting of other’s differences. When we are in a thin place, we may find that

forgiveness and honesty and vulnerability become more available and possible.

Some people have this experience with a loved one at the time of death. Because there is an awareness that time is short, people are sometimes willing to say things to a loved one at the time of death that they have not been able or willing to share before. They can say, “It really hurt when you did that,” or “I need to tell you about this thing.” The time of death can be a time to clear the air and to say things that have needed to be said for a while. At the same time, because time is short and because death is near, there can also be a greater willingness to forgive things that might, in less thin places, be held onto. Thin places can be times of forgiveness and healing. Spiritual depth and power flow somehow more easily and readily in thin places, where heaven and earth intersect and draw near.

The tabernacle and the temple were intended to be precisely such places. The ritual sacrifices performed in the temple that we read about in the Old Testament, and which can seem so strange to our modern, Presbyterian sensibilities, were designed to facilitate the reconciliation between broken, sinful people and the almighty, holy God. The temple was to facilitate forgiveness and reconciliation and healing.

But while biblical tradition does reference and provide for these kinds of religious spaces – temples, church buildings, sanctuaries – biblical tradition is also aware of a particular danger that hovers around those places. The danger is that religious spaces, which are intended to facilitate healing and forgiveness, can become distorted to the point that they becomes places of religious control and manipulation, where religious leaders take advantage of people’s devotion in order to puff up the institution and promote their own self-indulgence. When that sort of distortion hap