Sacred Space

Moses was in the desert tending his father-in-law’s sheep when he encountered a burning bush that was not consumed by the flames (Exodus 3:1-15).  He “turned aside” to see this marvelous thing.  God instructed Moses to take off his shoes because this is “Holy Ground,” holy because God was uniquely present.  Moses communed with God.  His life was never to be the same because he visited that sacred place.

Our worship space here at Holy Trinity is our “Holy Ground.”  It is here that we, like Moses, “turn aside” from our daily lives and uniquely encounter God.  This space is “consecrated” by God, which means it is set apart from the world for holy purposes.  It is here that sacred things happen, such as the reading of Scripture and communing with God at His Table.  This is where our prayers go up like incense filling the Temple, where in baptism God sets our feet upon the path leading to Him, where turning points in life such as marriage are sacramentalized (made sacred because God enters into this sacred event). God makes this space for us “Holy Ground.”

Since our worship space is set apart from the world, it looks and feels differently.  It is full of signs and symbols of our Christian journey.  For instance, the baptismal font as we enter the church reminds us of our baptismal covenant with God.  The altar reminds us of the very throne of God.   As we gather around the Lord’s Table we are reminded of the saints of God (that’s us) gathered around the great banquet table of the Feast of the Lamb at our Last Day. 

Our demeanor and behavior when we are in this sacred space is also different.  We are reverent and quiet as we enter this space.  During worship we honor God by singing, praising Him and giving thanks.  We seek to have the Lord speak to us in Scripture and sermon.  We have the tradition of bowing or genuflecting as we acknowledge the

Lord’s presence represented in the Cross of Christ, and with the scriptural admonition that “at the name of Jesus every knee shall bow,” we have the wonderful custom of bowing at the mention of the name of Jesus. 

And then we have the ancient tradition of processing the Gospel book down from the altar into the midst of the people for the reading of the Gospel lesson, symbolizing the Word of God coming down to us from the realms of Glory. This is reminiscent of the Word of God coming to the Children of Israel at Mt. Sinai.  White vestments signify being “washed clean in the blood of the lamb.”  We sit to hear God speak, and stand for praise and prayer.  If we had kneelers, we would kneel at times of particular reverence or humility before Him.  The list goes on….   Although we may not take our shoes off as Moses did, we do indeed treat this place as Holy.                                                                                                                                     Father Rob