Throughout the world there are all sorts of beautiful churches. Structures that took generations and fortunes to build and maintain and a very practical person might ask the obvious question: why? Why have communities, for thousands of years, made the effort to build these grand, awe-inspiring, expensive structures?
1 Lord, our Lord,
how majestic is your name in all the earth!
You have set your glory
in the heavens.
2 Through the praise of children and infants
you have established a stronghold against your enemies,
to silence the foe and the avenger.
3 When I consider your heavens,
the work of your fingers,
the moon and the stars,
which you have set in place,
4 what is mankind that you are mindful of them,
human beings that you care for them?
Psalm 8:1-4
It’s funny, because, for me, I think my answer to this “why?” question lies far away from large Cathedral Churches.
For me, I find the holiness and majesty of God during walks in the woods and on top of mountains, and on lake shores at sunset and during good conversation with close friends.
Because that’s why people build these huge ornate buildings-- to try and express the holiness and majesty of God for all those that enter the sanctuary.
In the same way that stained glass windows and flying buttresses inspire in some a sense of God’s majesty and joy, the wonder of God’s creation is what puts me in touch with these aspects of God’s character.
But here’s the thing, I’m guessing that when we look at God’s creation, or better yet, when we walk into a church building, we aren’t usually filled with a sense of awe. Walking into a church or walking through the woods are routine practices, and so sometimes we aren’t fully aware of the ways that God’s character is being revealed to us in those routine situations.
And yet there it is, time and again, the glory of God revealed to us. In sunsets and mountain tops and flower gardens and stained-glass windows and majestic architecture.
In a world with so much negativity and so many distractions, it’s important to remember the blessings and beauty of God that still surrounds us-- each and every day.
May we encounter the beauty of God, this day and always. AMEN.
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