All of us have places where we feel closer to God, or places where God feels closer to us, more accessible. We speak of holy places or sacred space when we refer to shrines, sanctuaries, special places in nature, or ancient pilgrimage sites. The church where I worship is such a place. The architecture, furnishings, and decorations has been chosen to enhance the perception that God is in this place in a special way-the ceilings or arches soar heavenward, there is a cross and other religious symbols, the space is open and airy, not cluttered, all designed to help us draw near to God, to remind us that God is here.
We all need places where we can come out of the bustle and press of our daily life-especially in these crowded, noisy, furiously-paced city-spaces that make God more accessible, or that make it easier for us to get back in touch with God. For many people, there are special places in nature that serve this purpose, perhaps a favorite mountain top or garden or a perch by the ocean. There are places in the world that many people recognize as "thin places." Places that have been sacred for centuries, even millennia, where the veil between the spiritual and the material is tissue-paper thin.
Of course, we know intellectually that God is no more present in one place than any other place. God is in all places. Yet we persist in thinking of places of worship as "houses of God," and there's no denying that we become aware of God's presence in particular spaces and under certain circumstances. They are places where we feel like we have access to the Spirit, places where we are able to feel in communion with God, where we find renewal, peace, comfort, guidance, inspiration, strength, and assurance. In God's house, wherever that may be for us, we find a sense of belonging, the reminder that God knows us, cares for us and loves us. These are places where we feel most deeply at home.
The concept of God's dwelling place, God's house has evolved over time. We see that evolution in scripture. In fact, what is probably the most significant event in the whole story of God's relationship with the people of Israel is regarding God’s dwelling place. King David is settled in his house in Jerusalem. He has been made king over all Judah and Israel, has taken Jerusalem for his capital and made it the center of worship by bringing the Ark of the Covenant to it. For centuries, since God brought the people out of Egypt, the symbol of God's dwelling, God's throne has been the Ark of the Covenant and the tabernacle that housed it-they signified that God was in the people's midst. As long as the people had the ark in their possession and took it with them from place to place, God was there with them.
That was the stark plight of the Gentiles before Christ. They did not belong, to God or to the community of God's people. But now, says this writer, "now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For he is our peace; in his flesh he has made both groups into one and has broken down the dividing wall, that is, the hostility between us." Through the death of Christ, the Gentiles, all those who were not part of the commonwealth of Israel, now have access to God. And a new community has been created, a new people, where once there were two peoples, now there is one new humanity.
It is an all-inclusive household. No one is disenfranchised. There are no more aliens, strangers, or outsiders. Through Christ, both groups now have access in one Spirit to the Father. There are no more doors or walls on God's house. The law, which once served to set God's people apart and was a dividing wall between the Jews and Gentiles has been abolished. This imagery reflects the intense struggle the Gentiles went through to be accepted into the church. The early church really wrestled with whether or not Gentiles could be full members without having to adhere to the law in all of its commandments and ordinances. That struggle is over. Jews and Gentiles both are members of the household of God, having equal access to God through the Spirit.
God's dwelling place is no longer a physical structure-it's not a movable tabernacle or a glorious temple, or this beautiful sanctuary. The temple of God is now the people of God, the community of the faithful. The cornerstone is Christ Jesus and the foundations are the apostles and prophets-all those who have gone before us-and we are the structure, joined together in Christ and continually growing into the dwelling place of God. Note that it is not individual followers of Christ who are referred to as God's house here, but the community. We all have our individual relationships to God, but the Christian faith is communal. To be Christian means to be a part of the body of Christ, the household of God. Together we are God's house, God's dwelling place.
When people say, "oh, I'm spiritual, but not religious," or "I don't believe in an institutional church," they are missing what it means to be Christian. To be Christian means that we are part of a community of faith. We are part of the body-whose individual parts cannot survive on their own. Feet, hands, arms, legs, even heads have to be attached to the body in order to carry out their function, in order to thrive, in order to survive. Together, we are God's house. That's a far more demanding calling than just to be "spiritual" on our own. We have to put up with other people. Learn to work with them, learn to love them. Put up with their quirks and eccentricities and all their annoying habits and traits.
We have to accept that we're going to think about things differently, have different opinions about what is most important or the best way to do things. We're accountable to one another for the way we live our lives of faith and we are to hold each other accountable for our actions and words that may disrupt or harm the community or its members. It's hard work being the church-but God has called each one of us into this household, told us that we're all welcome here, and that with Christ as our cornerstone, we are God's dwelling place.
God's house is not this building. God's house is all of us who follow Christ. May we always be mindful that we are God's house and that all are welcome. There are no outsiders or strangers, no aliens. God calls this kaleidoscope of diverse human beings together, and by the sheer grace of God, builds us up together into God's dwelling place. May we strive to make our community our sacred space, as holy a place as the most glorious cathedral or grandest mountain top. The household of God should be the place where we find our deepest sense of belonging, where we discover over and over again that God knows us, cares for us and loves us.
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