Church as a ‘Thin Place’
Sermon by Rev. Mary Alice Mulligan, Ph.D.
Scripture: Revelation 21:10, 22-22:5
Tradition tells us John was exiled to the Island of Patmos where he wrote down the visions he received. Today we call those writings the Book of Revelation, the final book of the modern Bible. Each week since Easter we have listened to passages from Revelation as John encourages Christians to remain faithful in the face of life-threatening opposition. At that time, the Roman Empire focused on crushing fringe religions, like followers of the Galilean rabbi who claimed he rose from the dead. The population was required to take loyalty oaths which included saying “Caesar is Lord.” Some coins were minted with the title for the Emperor: “Son of God,” so it was a dangerous time for Christians. The visions John wrote down reveal glorious promises of God for us now and for eternity. Today we pause to think about what happens when we get close to one of those holy visions, specifically the vision of God’s promised intentions for creation, when heaven and earth co-mingle, in the New Jerusalem. Pause now to read Revelation 21: 9-11, 22-22:5.
The passages from Revelation given to us by the lectionary committee keep focusing on the lovely vision of God’s new creation which will overlay, replace, and merge with the old heaven and Earth. Your pastor spent the week thinking and praying about, “What does St. Andrew need from these lovely visions?” So, here’s how my sermon preparation went.
St. Andrew, we have the right social positions. Not only do we grieve the mass shootings of last weekend, many of us immediately recognized that if the Tops shooter had been African American and the victims White, he would probably have been shot dead by police as soon as they got on scene. We notice. We are strong in the convictions we post on our church sign. “Every person is precious here.” “We support transgender rights.” No one in the congregation complained about the “Black Lives Matter” slide when it was up for months. So what does St. Andrew need from the visions in Revelation? We need to draw closer to God. The truth is, for some of us, connecting with God is much more difficult than showing up at a Pride Festival. In fact, for some of us, we may not even be sure we want to get closer to God. But here’s the reason we all need to tap into the presence of God more: Tough times are ahead. Really tough times. As we work for health care for all, peace in the world, anti-racism, refugee welcome, accurate education for our children, queer rights, and all the other issues of justice and mercy we care about, our human strength will give out. As opposition grows, our energy will get depleted. Giving up will seem like the only option. Our human strength is not enough. We have to depend on God. That’s what these visions are for.
So, we start with worship. Because worship can be a “thin place.” What do we mean by a “thin place?” We aren’t surprised when the angel carries John to a high mountain to show him the final vision. Somehow, we can more easily imagine a high vista as the place to get closer to God. Such a spot has been called by some “a thin place” where the distance between our common world and the reality of God compresses. In John’s vision, the New Jerusalem descends, melding into the old. Experiencing the vision becomes a thin place.
We recently saw such “thin places” when Ukrainian husbands put their families on trains and then put their hands on the train window. The wife would also put her hand on the window, and the window became a “thin place,” almost melting away between their hands. We know they could nearly feel the warmth of their spouse’s flesh.
When John shares his vision with the church, with us, especially in worship, together we can sense a thin place closing the distance between God and us. What perhaps felt like a brick wall separating us from God suddenly gets thin. We feel divinity close to us, perhaps as close as our own breath. God’s vision becomes our vision, of our true home, a city without hunger or hurting. A place where the divisions between nations have been healed by the leaves of God’s tree of life, so there is no war. One group is not trying to obliterate another. Instead we live together – not each in our own separate garden, but together in an interdependent city, where the well-being of each depends on the well-being of others. So in God’s New Jerusalem, people are mutually responsible for each other, which is how God wants the whole world.
Usually such a vision is pretty far from our reality, but occasionally, when we actually listen to a passage of scripture or the words and music of a hymn, suddenly we are transported to a thin place, where the veil between God’s holiness and our reality becomes so thin that we feel what God wants, we breathe in the holy, we absorb the Spirit. Beloved St. Andrew, together, church becomes a sacred thin place.
But a thin place is also demanding. When we acknowledge that together we have experienced a thin place; that we have actually come that close to God’s reality, then we see what God truly wants from us. Which is a little terrifying because we see what God expects of us.
Sharing the vision together and sensing what God wants is not like when our 6-year-old says she wants a pony that, by the way, she will never get. Instead, God is saying, “The New Jerusalem is what we must have. The vision is of the reality where we are all heading.” Then something inside us knows our future together with God is real, which is simultaneously intimidating, because then we must live in faithfulness to the vision.
Does that mean we will work toward measuring out the cubits of a city and gathering gold and jewels for the foundation? No. But we do need to prepare. God has set a pattern for our lives. Either Caesar is Lord or Jesus is Lord. We must choose. Now is the time to start habituating ourselves to be generous, more loving, mutually more compassionate. Now is the time to live toward the future we experience in those thin places.
John’s vision is a bit confusing, since the gates will never shut anyone out, yet nothing unclean will enter. What about all of us who are sinners? The vision shows “nothing accursed will be found there anymore.” Fortunately, not that nothing accursed gets in, but that nothing accursed will be found there anymore. I am convinced John means God’s grace spills over onto every single one of us throughout the world. So no matter what anyone has done, or what anyone believes or doesn’t believe, when the New Jerusalem comes, no one will be accursed anymore. Our accursed parts are cleaned up. Which leads to another demanding part of the vision. The New Heaven and New Earth together are God’s holy empire where all live together. Which means everyone, together, even the people we currently find repulsive. They are not only welcomed, but because the New Jerusalem is a city of mutual responsibility, we are fellow workers with those we currently cannot stand. Get it? The vision we breathe in at those thin places is demanding.
Revelation is full of figurative language most of us cannot fully endorse. However, I am convinced that what St. Andrew needs as we move forward together is to draw closer to God. To find those thin places together, where we sense the holy presence of God’s unconditional love, and where we can gain spiritual strength to work toward the future God is preparing for all of us.