Sanctuary
Boston Strong!
That’s the city’s rallying cry after
two men thought it necessary to detonate bombs near the finish line of the
famed Boston Marathon. Danielle
purchased the recent copy of People magazine featuring interviews of victims
who were there, and unfortunately were too close to the terror when the bombs
went off. The cover of the magazine
shows three young people with their newly fitted prosthetics, each of them
wearing t-shirts reading “Boston Strong”.
While we rally with Boston in the
wake of this, the most recent, terrorist act, we cannot escape the awareness of
that pit in our stomachs that beckons out of the depths of our fears with sighs
of, “Not again, Lord, not again.”
My son, a kindergartner, was taught
this year how and where to seek refuge should someone enter his classroom with
a gun. My heart breaks for the parents
of kids in Sandy Hook, Virginia Tech, and the far too many similar places that
echo into a cacophony that leaves us numb.
Are there no safe places
anymore?
The police and emergency workers have
now adopted a motto for us, “If you see something, say something.” The very vagueness of this only elevates my
insecurities. Is there no place we can
go to be free from the troublesome burden of keeping a suspicious eye out for “something”? Is there no relief from the fatigue of fear?
God’s Word is our only true safe place. When all else fails us, God remains with us…constant
and steadfast, hearing our cries, comforting us with inner peace; giving us an unyielding hope
that looks outward with expectation of grace yet to come.
I grew up in a church that had it's
worship space set apart from the fellowship space. Living God Lutheran does not have that luxury…yet. In this church of my youth, as in many
churches, the worship space was called the “sanctuary”.
Sanctuary is a word that means “safe
place” or “hiding place from our enemy”.
What a perfect name for our place of worship. There we hear the good news that in God’s
Word we find a safe place or a place to hide from our enemy. There we meet others with stories like ours
who have found a safe place in God’s Word, and the community that forms around
this promise becomes yet another source of sanctuary in and of itself.
In this world where it seems there
are no safe places, God remains our refuge and strength. God’s Word is our sanctuary.
Prayer: Lord prepare me to be a sanctuary; pure and holy, tried and true. With thanksgiving I'll be a living sanctuary for You. Amen
