I am not sure Quakers are always prepared to talk about the
sacred. But I do think Quakers are
taught fairly well to be prepared to engage the sacred. Let me explain and elaborate the
difference. I suspect in the process of explaining
and elaborating, some of you who grew up in other traditions or, perhaps, no
tradition at all will find some resonance in my own experience.
First of all, I define the sacred as the Presence of God or
the Holy One. Sacred simply means the
place or space of the Divinity. In the
history of religions the sacred might be a place, like a cathedral, a grove in
the forest or some other shrine. The
sacred can be the object of pilgrimages.
Sometimes the sacred has been the place of healing, as well as
revelation. The sacred is opposite of
the profane---which literally means “outside the temple.”
I personally like the language of “Presence.” The sacred is the place or space where you
encounter the Presence. Often I think
the Catholic Church and other traditions have done a better job than my own
Quaker tradition in helping folks know where these “sacred places” are to be
found. In fact, it is pretty normal for
Catholics to consecrate their churches.
Henceforth, the church is known as St. Mary’s or St. John’s or
something. Perhaps kids come to know
that stepping into the building is to enter sacred territory.
And of course, there seems to be levels of sacredness. At least in my novice’s understanding of
Catholic tradition, not every place inside the church is equal. Surely the altar has a degree of sacredness
that is superior to some place in the basement.
The altar is the scene of the eucharist---the holy communion or Lord’s
Supper. It is at the altar where the
priest takes the bread and the cup, blesses them and gives them to the
congregations as the body of Christ and the blood of Christ.
The altar is the focusing point. It is the place where the sacred is most
concentrated, if you will. As I think
about the Quaker building, there is nothing like the altar. Traditionally, Quaker architecture has no
obvious center or sacred spot. I am
tempted to think that my tradition is simply that much poorer for the lack of
sacred specificity. On the surface, we
don’t have saints and we don’t have sacred places or spaces. And on the surface, this is true.
The more I think about it, however, the more I realize my
own Quaker tradition and the Catholic tradition are like points on a
circle. If we image the circle, my
tradition and the more liturgical ones, like the Catholic or Episcopal are far
away from each other on this circle. But
if we were to turn the other way, lo and behold, there they are almost next to
the Quakers! We are so far apart, we are
almost next to each other! Let me
explain.
I can put it simply by saying that Quakers have a tendency
to spiritualize the more outward symbols of the sacred. Instead of the altar in the middle of the
cathedral to which the faithful come to encounter the Holy One, the Quaker
imagines the inward altar. Instead of
the altar in the middle of the sanctuary (sanctus
= holy), I can talk about the inner sanctum (the inner sanctuary). It is at this inner sanctuary that the
encounter with the sacred takes place.
This means that the Quaker is not likely to sense the
holiness of the building. I know of no
Quaker meetinghouse called “St. Something.”
Rather the Quaker process is to enter the building and begin the
preparation of going to the altar of the heart.
There God promises to become present and to be experienced as the
Presence. There I will be “fed.” There I will be nourished and nurtured with
the living Presence---the food of my soul.
In the end I doubt this experience is much different from the Catholic
who goes inside “St. Something” in order to approach the altar and be “fed”
with the living Presence of the Holy God.
I can write these words and express what sounds like
doctrine. Doctrine proclaims, “this is
how it is.” I can accept it, reject it,
etc. But doctrine is not experience. Doctrine talks about God, but is not a living
experience of the Holy One. Doctrine
might be interesting; experience is enlivening---life giving.
In order to become available to the living Presence, I can
prepare myself. I can make the effort to
go into a place of sacred space. I can
make the effort to go inside and find that inner altar of my heart. I can prepare myself by being expectant and
ready. I can expect the living Presence
to come to me and to “feed” me with nourishment for my spiritual self.
In the end it does not seem to matter much whether I am
Quaker, Catholic or any other tradition.
What matters is spiritual preparation.
What matters is to have a sense for the Presence and the sense to pursue
it. Ultimately, it is not just a good idea. It is a life-giving experience.
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