Last week, we tackled the difficult idea of finding Holy
Ground in one another, esp. those we don’t really like or agree with, or
perhaps even hate or fear. Did you have any luck in looking for Christ in
someone you typically have trouble dealing with? It calls for a bit of dying to
self to do that, doesn’t it?
With All Hallow’s Eve (Halloween) just around the corner, it
is a good time to ponder how exactly we can find Holy Ground in death and loss.
Whether that is physical death of a loved one, death of a dream or hope, or
just ‘dying to self’ it can be a holy time.
The ancient Celts, whose practices gave birth to the
celebration of Halloween, believed that this season of the year was a ‘thin
time’. It is a time when the veil between the living and dead is pulled aside
and the dead can return to their homes. Other cultures have similar practices.
The Mexican Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) celebrations are based on the
idea that the dead need fed and nurtured at this time of year. Chinese families
also leave food offerings for their dead relatives. All these practices
recognize that the past, and esp. our ancestors, have an impact on our lives
now.
In the Disney movie Mulan,
the Ancestors awaken when Mulan takes her father’s place as a warrior. She is
willing to put herself at risk to save her father’s life. It is only in letting
go of the cultural restrictions that Mulan becomes who she really is. It is not
as a woman dressed as a man, but as a woman, that she ultimately saves China
and the Emperor from the invading Huns.
Perhaps our forbearers, both familial and in the faith, can
help us find the way to Holy Ground, when the veil is thin. Recognition of the
thin space between preserving our life as status quo and denying ourselves for
the greater good is Holy Ground.
In Luke 9: 23-25, Jesus tells his disciples, “If any want to become my followers, let them
deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me. For those who want
to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will
save it. What does it profit them if they gain the whole world, but lose or
forfeit themselves?”
It is not easy to follow this teaching. There is so much in
the world that encourages us to put ourselves first. This product or that one
will make you beautiful or popular or rich or even famous. Jesus’ followers are
told to live in exactly the opposite way. To ‘deny themselves’ and love one
another. That will almost certainly lead to being counter-cultural. Denying our
desires and wants in order to honor the Holy Ground in someone else is not
easy. Maybe it’s simply letting someone merge in traffic when you are in a
hurry, or allowing another person to get the closer parking space at Walmart.
Or it could be standing up for the rights of the homeless, the poor, the sick,
the abused and thereby becoming one of ‘those’ radical activists.
Take a few minutes to think about the impact of
the faith, or lack of faith, in your family tree. How has Holy Ground been
nurtured in your by family or friends throughout your life? Can you recognize
times when your family or friends did ‘deny themselves’ so that you could
prosper? What one thing can you do this week to ‘deny yourself’?
