{"id":7912,"date":"2020-04-07T14:46:45","date_gmt":"2020-04-07T19:46:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thedisciplemaker.org\/?p=7912"},"modified":"2020-04-07T14:46:45","modified_gmt":"2020-04-07T19:46:45","slug":"finding-sacred-space-in-the-upper-room","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.navpress.com\/sites\/thedisciplemaker\/2020\/04\/finding-sacred-space-in-the-upper-room\/","title":{"rendered":"Finding Sacred Space in the Upper Room"},"content":{"rendered":"
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This post originally appeared on the author’s blog at catherinemcniel.com<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n

Sunday night. A group of friends huddle inside their upper room, doors locked, afraid. Can you blame them? Two days ago their friend and teacher was brutally and publicly executed. No wonder they\u2019re hiding.<\/p>\n\n\n

I doubt I\u2019ll ever understand the complex emotions of an oppressed people under the thumb of a violent empire, after they stepped out to follow a man who provoked those in authority with the treasonous, blasphemous claim that he was both King and God\u2014and, not surprisingly, was crucified. I don\u2019t pretend my privileged life as a citizen of an empire could prepare me for this moment in any respect. Just days ago they were celebrating the Passover with their friends. Today, they shelter in place. Today, the world is too dangerous for them to show their faces.<\/p>\n\n\n

Yet, this year\u2019s Holy Week experience offers me a taste. We\u2019re huddled in our rooms, too. The world, so normal just weeks ago, is already unrecognizable, turned dangerous and unpredictable. We have no idea what will come next. Our plans are upside down, our schedules in disarray. All the tools we use to build our identities, cope with stress, solve problems, and prepare for tomorrow have all but disappeared. We literally sit in our houses with the doors locked. Waiting. Afraid.<\/p>\n\n\n

Among the treasures we\u2019ve lost are our routines, our rhythms. With Holy Week upon us, how do we mark the time, the sacred space? How do we separate the aching of Lent from the rejoicing of Resurrection when we\u2019re sitting with the disciples, locked in the upper room?<\/p>\n\n\n

A primary function of religious rituals and festivals\u2014in the ancient world as well as today\u2014is to create sacred space, places and times that remind us to look towards God. The act of pausing for evening prayer, a day of rest, or a week of celebration was never intended to convince God to come near\u2014where would the Creator be but here? The sacred spaces were to remind us, we busy, distracted humans, to open our eyes and remember that God is with us, right here, and always has been.<\/p>\n\n\n

This is a problem for you and me, for we\u2019ve worked hard to rid our daily lives\u2014and even our worship\u2014from traditional rituals and rhythms, too lazy, perhaps, to center our energies around someone besides ourselves; too afraid to appear legalistic or trying to earn God\u2019s attentions. After all, if God is here anyway, why bother? Why not simply walk each moment alongside our Creator? And yet, we struggle, day after day, year after year, to step into this presence, to remember, to abide. We need the sacred space after all.<\/p>\n\n\n

With Holy Week upon us, how do we mark the time, the sacred space? How do we separate the aching of Lent from the rejoicing of Resurrection when we\u2019re sitting with the disciples, locked in the upper room?<\/p>

All Shall Be Well: Awakening to God’s Presence in His Messy, Abundant World<\/a><\/strong><\/em> and Long Days of Small Things: Motherhood as a Spiritual Discipline<\/a><\/strong><\/em> which was an ECPA finalist for New Author. Follow the book links to engage further and read the first chapters for free.<\/p>\n

More from Catherine<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n
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