A Look of Holiness

What does holiness look like? Many writers on the general topic of spirituality talk about "thin spaces" where eternal realities and temporal limitations almost touch one another. Those places where silence and attentiveness bring us face to face with what is sacred in our existence tease us into contemplation about what else may be there "on the other side."

My friend Carl posted this week on Facebook these photos of the Monastery of the Holy Spirit in Conyers, Georgia. In May of this year he made life promises there as a lay Cistercian.  (read about it here) With him were Father Luke (100 years old!) and Father Anthony, whose promises long ago have led them into a life of simplicity, prayer and community.  The photo of the MOHS sanctuary strikes me as a place that is "thin" for many, not only the monks who reside there but the thousands of other seekers who come to be welcomed by a community of hospitality that ushers them lovingly into such thin spaces.

 

Many also find thin spaces in the world, outside of the walls of sanctuaries and temples. Talk to my friends who have spent time on Crystal Lake in Michigan and you will hear sacred stories of community, connection and Christ.  In both places, the sacred experience is tied to more than just physical beauty or the way the world is hushed by chanting or the lapping of waves on the shore.  Holiness may look like the loving eyes of Father Luke who has prayed with countless pilgrims or it may look like the genuine grin of a young camp counselor who finally makes a 3rd grader laugh out loud on the last day of his first experience of sleep-away camp.  What does holiness look like for you today?

For the beauty of the earth, for the wonder of each hour ... we approach this summer in search of thin spaces and rejoicing in the love we find there.

Children's Choir Singing For the Beauty of the Earth

Astonished!

"Let me keep my mind on what matters, which is my work, which is mostly standing still and learning to be astonished." -- Mary Oliver

There is much to be said for just paying attention.  Some mornings I walk into our sanctuary to retrieve something and suddenly turn around to notice the sun coming through this window in a way that never fails to take me by surprise.  It is astonishing the beauty that surrounds us every moment.  A ray of sunlight, a pure note sung by our neighbor, an infant's smile, or light streaming through blue glass.  Allow yourself to be astonished today!

Pay Attention

The photo above was posted last week by the  Lakewood Daily Snap, a beautiful photoblog worth checking out.

This is the first, wildest, and wisest thing I know, that the soul exists and it is built entirely out of attention.  -- Mary Oliver

This Monday my thoughts are directed to the issue of paying attention. Some days are so full that we realize at it's end we hardly noticed where we were or who was with us. 

Psalm 19 reads "The heavens are telling the glory of God; and the firmament proclaims his handiwork.  Day to day pours forth speech, and night to night declares knowledge."

Here's hoping we find the wisdom to stop and take notice.