God’s Other Sanctuary
The Covid-19 pandemic has taken a toll on all of us. For many people of faith it has affected their ability to gather for worship. Early on our government authorities were urging us not to congregate. Those requests have largely passed and many churches are now meeting again. But it’s not the same. We’re encouraged to continue to practice social distancing and wear masks while in the sanctuary. We have been asked not to sing. We worship but it doesn’t feel quite right. Even with places of worship resuming services a lot of people have elected to stay home and experience church on television or Facebook Live services. I think all of us long for the day things will return to some sense of normalcy. In the meantime, Covid-19 will continue to hinder our corporate gatherings of worship.
The pandemic need not, however, hinder our private expressions of worship. We may worship God anytime and anyplace we choose. We may or may not be able to go to church but there is another “church” that is always accessible—nature. I was reminded of this recently when I read a selection from one of William Barclay’s books. In it he writes: “To Jesus the whole world was full of signs, the corn in the field, the leaven in the loaf, the scarlet anemones on the hillside all spoke to him of God. He did not think that God had to break in from outside the world; he knew that God was already in the world for anyone who had eyes to see. The sign of truly religion persons is not that they come to Church to find God but that they find God everywhere; not that they make a great deal of sacred places but that they sanctify common places.”
John Muir once told his readers that “No wilderness in the world is so desolate as to be without divine ministers. God’s love covers all the earth as the sky covers it, and also fills it in every pore. And this love has voices heard by all who have ears to hear.” These words remind us that by stepping outside, or perhaps just looking out the window, we can find ourselves at church.
The Bible makes it clear that God is revealed through Creation. In nature we find a vast sanctuary where we can commune with God and offer our Creator our heartfelt worship. I walk outdoors every day and use this time to pray and worship God. I don’t have to worry about social distancing or wearing a mask. I can even sing out loud if I want. Each day when I return from my walk I feel like I’ve been to church and there is a sense in which I have.
I hope you’ll take advantage of God’s other sanctuary and use it to bring you closer to the Holy One. The restrictions that have come with the current pandemic cannot prevent us from sanctifying common places. Not now. Not ever.
–Chuck