Sacred
Lessons Learned from ‘Church’,
But
Not in Worship
Rick and I just got
back from five weeks in Switzerland, Italy, and Iceland. It was a
fabulous trip and we experienced for the first time new cultures, new
languages, new monetary systems. We traveled in every sort of
transportation mode imaginable – foot, bike, car, taxi, bus, train,
airplane, boat, and an assortment of funiculars and chair lifts. And
for five consecutive Sundays, we never went to worship once. I think
that might be a record for me, at least since my post college days!
But Rick will tell
you that doesn’t mean we didn’t go to church – LOTS of
churches. Probably more churches than Rick was truly interested in
seeing. He’s a very patient man. But I have a thing about seeing
steeples pointing up in villages, crosses high in the sky above the
rooftops, bell towers of every size and shape. I love opening the
huge, heavy doors and peeking inside. I find the sacred space in a
church even when it is empty. I took pictures of churches and used
them as the basis for my daily prayers. You saw some of those
pictures as you entered today in the form of our pictorial prelude.
While worship as we commonly perceive it wasn’t happening, a
different type of personal worship was taking place. And in that
worship, I recognized several sacred truths or lessons, which I want
to share with you today. Hence the title of this sermon, “Sacred
Lessons Learned in Church, but Not in Worship”.
Romans
2:1 Every single
one of you who judge other is without any excuse. You condemn
yourself when you judge another person because the one who is judging
is doing the same things.
Lesson
Number 1: Don't judge by looks.
We were given a map
of Florence when we arrived off the train – marked with the
highlights of the city: The Duomo, Santa Maria Novella Basillica,
Santa Croce de Firenze - all famed churches, filled with historic
art, with broad plazas and gardens around them. But I discovered the
map also had tiny little black crosses on it, scattered throughout
the heart of downtown. Were these also churches? I didn’t know
what they were. One morning, as we exited a former church now
museum, we crossed the narrow Italian street (and they are ALL
narrow!) and I saw a somewhat drab, plain stucco facade tucked back
from the curb. It didn’t look like much – it wasn’t very big
- and we almost passed right by to seek some other renowned sight of
Florence. But the simple cross on top called to me,
“Hey, I’m a church too! I’m on the map!” You can’t be a
very special one or very big, I thought to myself in judgment. But
still, I opened the door and peeked inside.
Oh, don’t judge a
book by its cover, people by their clothing, or a church by simply by
its facade! Inside was a large cathedral, statues, carvings on the
walls, and ancient artwork. Stained glass windows poured in enough
light to see the beauty. A nun was giving organ or voice lessons and
quiet music filtered through the sanctuary. It was every bit as
sacred as its ‘bigger and brighter’ cousins. What did we
discover? All those little red crosses represented equally beautiful
spaces throughout the city. This was a lesson we must learn over and
over it seems.
Matthew
6:33 Seek ye first
the Kingdom of God.
Lesson Number 2:
Put God at the top.
You
can see a lot of countryside from the windows of a train. But you
have to look fast because the view changes quickly! As we rode
through northern Italy by rail, I spotted many a church on the top of
a hill, high above the village below. Sometimes
I wondered, “How in the world do the people get to the church?”
In the Dolomites, we visited Santa Croce chapel, located at the end
of trails and the chair lift, high on the mountain.
In Iceland, we found churches on the town’s highest point. Not
only did the steeples tower above the community, often the whole
church did. Now perhaps this was a result of churches as a sanctuary
or refuge – they had to be easily seen, but I like to think of it
as a matter of priority. God comes first. God needs to be ‘at the
top’ so to speak.
I
realize this might
sound in direct opposition to my first lesson with the churches
tucked away
in hidden corners
of Florence, but perhaps we can interpret Florence as ‘Put God
everywhere!’
One
day in Iceland I saw and photographed five different churches – all
in very remote towns or on farms. (Early Icelandic farmers thought
they could earn favor with God by building a church on their farm –
many are still standing.) Each of these churches was prominent due
to their color – all red and white! They stood out! What was
also interesting about these Icelandic churches was that few held
Sunday worship
services or had signs on the doors indicating when people might
gather or even the name of the church! But their very
existence
spoke of a faith and a
priority.
Where
is the steeple in your life? In
mine? Is
it on a hilltop or at
the bottom of the valley? Does our
cross tower above so all can see and be inspired? Is
our faith recognizable by our actions, our colors?
Genesis
9:13 I will hang
a rainbow among the clouds. It will serve as a sign of the covenant
between Me and the earth.
Lesson
Number 3:
Surround
yourself with beautiful reminders of
God.
Churches
built prior to the age of the printing press were filled with artwork
– not because they wanted to be an art gallery, but because it was
through the art on the walls that parishioners learned the stories of
the Bible. The churches are literally covered
with visual reminders of God With Us – through stained glass,
murals and frescoes, sculpture, and
doors carved with Old and New
Testament tales. Today we still put up liturgical art – banners or
paraments – reminders of who we are as a people of God.
Outside
of the sanctuary walls, what reminds us of God? Do the walls of our
homes reflect our faith? Do we surround ourselves with the beauty of
God’s love?
While
in Iceland, the weather was less than ideal. We had frequent rain
showers interspersed with periods of sunshine. The result was God’s
most epic reminder – every day, several times a day! Rainbows
marked our drive in from the Reykjavik airport upon arrival. God
with us! Rainbows graced nearly every waterfall we visited. Rainbows
would appear at random times along the lava cliffs or as we looked
out the apartment window.
And as we drove back to the airport? A full rainbow to say, “Safe
travels home my child!” When you see a rainbow, are you singing
Judy Garland or are you
reminded of God?
Romans
1:20
For
ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky.
Through everything God made, they can clearly see his invisible
qualities – his eternal power and divine nature. They have no
excuse for not knowing God.
Lesson
Number 4: Sacred
Spaces exist outside of churches.
We were hiking in the
Berner-Oberland of Switzerland – that’s near the Eiger Peak of
James Bond fame – the morning had started out in sunshine with some
wonderful views, but within the hour we were hiking in the fog of a
cloud. Yet music filled the air, bells ringing a symphony in the
mist. Later in the trip along the western coast of Italy, we could
hear the bells of three different churches ring out the hours –
each playing a stanza of a sacred song. I couldn’t see the cows
with their bells, and I never knew which church was playing, but in
each instance, for a moment of time, a sacred space was carved out
by the music of the bells. (Audio video of bells)
At
a lake near the Matterhorn, famed for its near perfect reflection of
the peak, we found a crowd of busy tourists. Two or three were
surely gathered, yet I don’t think worship was on the minds of most
of the gathering. But I climbed over a few rocks into a tiny alcove
behind a rare
still-
blooming spray of fireweed. The rocks blocked out the people in
front of me and suddenly the tiny
space
became sacred. As I crouched down low to take my picture, God was
there in the pink
blossoms,
in the incredible mountain view, and even in
the
mud I got all over my pants.
Ephesians
5:8 You were once
darkness, but now you are light in the Lord, so live your life as
children of light.
Lesson Number 5:
There is One Light with many sources. We are
individually part of that Light.
After
the multitude of colors and artwork adorning the churches of Italy,
we came to Iceland. MANY churches, but often sans stained glass with
little ornamentation. Natural light flooded the sanctuaries. Even
the stained glass we found was mostly white. I was struck with the
presence of LIGHT. And then we visited Reykjavik’s most famous
Hallgrimskirkja, a space shuttle shaped cathedral perched on the
highest hill of the town. It was a rainy, windy gray
day, but still
the sanctuary was filled with light. There was just one small
stained glass in a little chapel corner, the
rest of the windows were clear glass.
Huge gray-white stone columns mimicked the basalt columns of the
island. The altar area, a space larger than our whole sanctuary,
seemed to bounce light off from one side to another. In the back of
the church, we found a globe shaped candle holder. It reminded me of
the many candle areas we found in the Catholic churches of Italy,
places where you ‘light a candle in memory or in prayer for
another’. But the focus of this was to BE THE LIGHT! To
take the light into all the world, hence the globe shape.
I
loved the
symbolism
and it seemed to be a fitting finale for our trip and our church
visits. The
poem that accompanied the candle holder we are using later in the
service.
With
the light of the Icelandic churches in mind, I thought back to the
multitude of churches we visited – Reformation churches in
Switzerland, Catholic churches of all sizes and shapes in Italy, the
state Lutheran churches of Iceland. Many faiths, One God. Many
interpretations, One God. Many
cultures. One God. One
Light. And
we have a responsibility to carry that LIGHT with us into the world –
every day.
So….5
lessons of judgment, priority, surroundings, Creation, and Light.
May we continue to seek what God has to teach us wherever we may be
and in whatever manner God uses. May we have the hearts to see and
listen. Amen.
CREATION
Noah
Abraham and Stars
