Spirituality is...Sanctuary

"Sanctuary is where we take care of our soul. It is both a place and a state of the mind and heart - a refuge to hold dear and to reverently give."    The Sanctuary Garden by Christopher Francis McDowell. 

This morning in church Pastor Dixie was praying and said something that has been rolling around in my head ever since.  She said, "We know a sanctuary is not a vault for keeping God in, but a reminder that the world is a sanctuary for us."  Wow.

My first thought upon hearing that was, "Lord, I wish that was true. Let that someday be true."  Because, frankly, the world just doesn't seem like much of a sanctuary sometimes.  I have always thought of sanctuary as a place to get away from the world, not the other way around. And yet, in study and more prayer today - I realize Dixie is right. 

When I hear the word "Sanctuary" the first thing I think of, without fail, is the "Hunchback of Notre Dame"  where Quasimodo takes Esmeralda into the church crying, "Sanctuary! Sanctuary!" to invoke the laws of protection offered by the church. 

 Sadly, in that story - the ability of the laws of sanctuary to protect innocent Esmeralda are limited and ultimately fail.  Sometimes even the biggest doors can't keep danger away. However, the dictionary shows us another definition for the idea other than "keep the danger out".

Sanctuary has its roots in the Latin word sanctus.  That word simply means - "holy".  So a sanctuary isn't:

a safe place

a pretty place

a happy place

a peaceful place.

A sanctuary is a "holy place".  Now, I understand that if the sanctuary had those other attributes - safety, beauty, joy and peace - that makes it more appealing.  But the truth remains that what is required for the status of sanctuary is holiness. 

I know what you are thinking.  The world - that loud, violent, crashing place where children suffer hunger, and the rich refuse to care for the poor - is NOT holy.  But, who are we to say that's entirely true?  In the parable of the weeds in the wheat - (Matthew 13) - the wheat and weeds are allowed to grow together in the field. Then they will be separated at harvest. Why?  Because pulling up the weeds may damage the wheat -- and lets face it - some folks have a difficult time telling "weeds" from "wheat" and may pull up the wrong thing to begin with.  Better to leave the wheat until harvest. After all, the wheat is not going to turn into a weed.  Then we begin to realize -- the wheat was planted in a wheat field. Not a weed field.  The presence of the weeds does not take away the purpose of the field. 

Much in the same way - God created our world -- its majesty, natural beauty, bountiful food and amazing water -- to be a sanctuary to us. It is a holy gift.  The presence of the weeds of injustice, pollution, and corruption does not take away the holy intention of the creation or the holy infusion of the Creator. 

So what should we do in a world full of weeds?  Feed the wheat. Make its roots strong. Make the crop bountiful. Continue to nurture that which is good, that which is sustaining, and that which is still holy in the world that is around it.  Work to clean up the mess left by the weeds and protect the soil as much as possible.  

The spirituality of sanctuary isn't to carve out a small corner of the field where we feel safe from weeds.  The spirituality of sanctuary is to realize that we are the wheat planted by the farmer, tended by the great gardener, and growing ever strong in the world around us.

The law of sanctuary couldn't save Esmeralda - because laws fail.

The proclamation of our church sanctuaries can't always protect us - because churches are made of people, and people fail.

Yet - the spirituality of sanctuary - the knowledge that we are in the world, in a field made for us to be planted in, can give us light, hope and courage because its based on the holiness of God and that does not fail.

Therein lies the peace of sanctuary we so often seek.