Creating Sanctuary Part 5 - life, death and hope

Creating Sanctuary in a busy world – is not about getting away from it, or finding sanctuary somewhere out there (like in this picture) – sanctuary needs to be created where we are. We don’t just find God out there in the Yorkshire Dales. We find God here, now, today, where we live and work and have our being. In us, in me.

 

A great picture of the place of sanctuary in our lives is that of the tabernacle. This is the large tent and meeting area constructed by the people of Israel to provide a place in the centre of their lives and community. Exodus 25.

 

 

 

 

 

 

We are basing this series on the book “Finding Sanctuary” by Abbot Christopher Jamison a Benedictine. The metaphor he uses is that of building a sanctuary. It takes work and time and effort.

 

It starts with laying a floor of silence and contemplation leading to prayer. Prayer in which we converse with God as “you” not “him” or “it”. We then build walls of obedience and humility which protect us. We are obedient when we choose to listen to the voice of the father rather than many other voices, especially those of the materialism, or consumerism or fear or hopelessness. Our humility comes not from doing ourselves down but from knowing who we really are – clods of earth that have life (not gods or God).

 

We then provide shelter to the sanctuary by placing a roof overhead and the way we do this is through community.

 

Community in the way we are thinking of it – as church or congregation (ekklesia or koinonia) – is not about a group of people with similar interests but a group of people called together by Jesus. We may not like each other very much – to start with. But we are called to commit to the community of faith (church). The body of Christ. The group of people who are called by him to build community together. The reason this is so important and the reason why those who choose not to commit themselves to one community of faith are missing out is that in order to create sanctuary, a place where God dwells among us, we need to be in community.

 

The community, the process of working out all those other parts of sanctuary together, provides a shelter, a roof to the building if you like.

 

We cannot know the full presence of God unless we are in community with him dwelling at the centre. The sanctuary metaphor starts with the contention that we create sanctuary through virtue – living rightly. You can only be virtuous in community

 

Some characteristics of being part of a community:

• Stability – long haul
• Good conversation
• Working through conflict
• Openness to the visitor

This is why we do what we do:

• We meet regularly like this in the larger group (hard for some I know – and an ongoing challenge as we grow) – say hullo and arrange to meet during the week.
• We meet regularly in housegroups – small groups that meet in people’s homes.
• We encourage small groups of 2 or 3 or 4 where you can hold each other accountable.
• We encourage friendship and making new friends.

 If you are not in a housegroup and joining with the rest of the community on a regular basis you are trying to operate without a roof over your place of sanctuary. There is no shelter from the rain and sun.

 

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Life, death and hope

 

We could talk about some other key aspects of creating community: spirituality in a secular culture, the steps on the ladder to virtue, we could explore contemplation at length.

 

However, I would like to finish this series thinking about life, death and hope. The sanctuary we have created needs to have an altar at the centre – a place of sacrifice and worship to the God who dwells among us. And an understanding of life, death and hope provides this altar.

 

How do we understand life? Well we must understand it in the context of death and hope.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What is the difference between the Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe and Watership Down? Both have talking animals and humans. Both have tragedy and humour and a great tale to tell?

 

But the Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe is not the end of the story …

 

(It is a bit like reading a good book – I tend to start reading fast and then, especially if I am enjoying it, I slow down because I don’t want to reach the end too quickly. Knowing the end is coming you sort of deny its inevitably by reading slowly and trying to go back over the good bits).

 

It is great to read a book knowing that when you get to the end there will be another one in the series. You can rush along to the end of the first one knowing that you can dive straight into the second…and third. In a way you have to sacrifice the 1^st book in order to get into and enjoy the second.

 

The trouble is of course that even a series must come to an end one day. But in our BIG STORY, the one in which we are living: in the introduction; the move through death into the “first chapter” opens up a story which not only has no ending, not even a happy one, but just gets better and better all the time.

 

But this life has no value or distinctiveness until it is set alongside death.

 

It is like a diamond ring set against a black cloth in the jewellers. Death throws life into sharp relief and we need to be aware of death every day if we are to really live every day.

 

I don’t mean walking around with a death wish or looking like, “death warmed up”. I don’t mean wearing black or mourning – that is what we do when remember someone who has died.

 

What I mean is be aware of our own mortality. It is part of being humble – I am created, I am human, I am alive and one day I will die. God is the creator and gives life and takes it away.

 

We know death is certain, how do we respond? Negative responses could be:

 

Fear

 

This is another voice to which we are tempted to listen (cf consumerism and materialism) – do we obey that impulse? To safeguard our lives at all costs? To hold on to, to protect? Is this another voice leading us into busyness? Buying insurance, investing in pensions, spending time and money on our health. Are we full of fear of losing this life? Or are we worried that how we live this life will affect what comes after, we fear a re-incarnation scenario that turns us into a cow or deep water sea cucumber or … even worse … a member of the female sex! (Just kidding – that’s what some forms of re-incarnation believe!).

Carelessness

 

There is nothing after death, just blackness, so what we do now does not matter. You can be as hedonistic or as damaging as you like because there are no consequences beyond the grave. This is the humanist position and it surprises me that someone with this perspective does not work through to the obvious conclusion that life is worthless and may as well be ditched.

 

However, it is hard to look at death without any view of what lies beyond. If you have no hope or vision for life after death then it is scary to look at. And that is the way the enemy wants it – for us to avoid looking at it and think of it as the end, as scary and bad or nothing.

 

Of course, we know the truth is different – that there is hope

 

Luke 24:46-67

Jesus explained to them, “this is what is written: The Christ will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, and repentance and forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations”.

 

 

It is in the truth and in the fact of the resurrection that we have hope.

 

Knowing that on the other side of death is life gives us the hope and the capacity to enjoy life to its full now. That’s why Jesus can say to us,

 

John 10:10

I came that you may have life and have it abundantly.

 

This hope is a crucial part of creating sanctuary.

 

So life becomes something to celebrate and give to God in a sacrificial act so that he can bless that very life and make it holy? As we look at death, as we are humbly aware of our own mortality we choose to listen to the Lord’s voice saying, “death has been swallowed up in victory.” (1 Cor 15:54) Because neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord (Romans 8:37-39).

 

We can look at death as an opportunity to give our lives back to God. We don’t hold onto our lives, refusing to give them up. We say to the Father, “Here is my life … and death. It is all yours”. Then we live an abundant life now and in expectation of the time when we are forever in his presence and in a place where there is no pain, sorrow, goodbyes, regrets – the ultimate sanctuary of knowing his presence within and with us 100%.

 

The future of humanity lies in the hands of those able to pass onto future generations reasons for living and for hoping.

2^nd Vatican Council

 

That’s us. Instead of fear and carelessness we have reasons to live and to hope. Because of Jesus - we can look at death and live life to the full and know that on the other side of death lies eternal life. It is like being inside the broom cupboard, opening the door and walking out into the ballroom.

 

Maximus, “What we do in life echoes in eternity”.

 

 

 

What we do now matters because of what comes after. What comes after is part of the same life we live now – we will just step through the door.

 

That hope allows us to offer our lives now as sacrifices to him; which means our lives can become holy – sacrifice allows them to be cleaned out of rubbish and sin and dirt. They can be made clean and set apart again.

 

Romans 12:1

I urge you, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God – this is your spiritual act of worship.

 

Conclusion 

God’s mercy toward us is so great, allowing, even inviting, us to create a sanctuary in our lives where he can dwell – something that is hard to contemplate and impossible to deserve.

 

Our response is to offer our whole lives, our humanity our person, to him in grateful thanks and with the plea, “make me holy, remove from me all that is not of you and fill me with your Holy Spirit, cleaning me out, setting me apart from the headlong slide to selfish, individual hopelessness.”

 

Matthew 4:16 the people living in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned…