by Peter Davison
Q:What is meant by “sacred time and space?”
A:This is a good topic as we enter a new church year. It is particularly relevant in a society which has largely lost its sense of times and seasons, and of the human connection with natural rhythms. You no doubt have noticed how commercial enterprises have fused all the seasons into one long commercial. Thanksgiving quickly gave way to Hallowe'en, and already the Christmas displays are going up (I write this the day after Hallowe'en). In this scheme of things there is no recognition of Advent as a time of waiting, for we are all supposed to be able to have everything we want right away. All time has become accelerated, and we become restless and anxious when "nothing is happening."
Attitudes, however, are beginning to change. The campaign for the "100-mile diet" is part of our recognition of the damage caused by our desire to have all foods at all times. This only happens because of vast commercial operations and the need to transport produce long distances, with serious consequences for the environment. It has also led to the demise of many small farms, and regulations favouring large trans-national corporations. But we are now beginning to "think globally and act locally." The loss may be year-round availability of many goods; but the gain may be the recovery of local farms and industries, with fewer chemicals in our foods, and less harm to the environment — to say nothing of reversing the practice of "out-sourcing" work with its consequent loss of jobs.
The Christian calendar is particularly relevant to all this. The seasons of the church year are closely related to the seasons of nature and, like nature, are marked by changing moods and colours. We have times of celebration and times for reflection and penitence. These remind us that life itself has its ups and downs, and our capacity for joy is intimately connected with our ability to lament and repent — just as our ability to give is related to our willingness to receive gratefully and gracefully. So the seasons help us to understand life in all its rich variety, and so to live more fully. The idea of "sacred time" or "Sabbath," which is understood still in universities and some businesses as a need for "sabbaticals," reminds us of the destructive consequences of non-stop work and activity. We need time to worship and reflect. Without this, we lose much of our autonomy, and become the victims of others who would regulate every detail of our lives. In reality, "sacred time" exists to remind us that all time is sacred — that time is not meant to be "killed" or "spent" or "passed," but used well. That means "having time" for God, one another, and for ourselves — a healthy balance of work, play and leisure.
The same is true of "sacred space," which is meant to remind us of God's presence in the whole of creation. Churches and shrines are not intended to imply that God lives only in such places, but to remind us that God is everywhere, and our worship is meant to spill out into the whole of life. We are not to divide our lives into Sunday versus everyday, but rather to bring our daily life into our worship, and our worship into our workplaces and our play. Individually and as a society we run a serious danger of compartmentalizing our lives into totally separate and disconnected worlds. This flies in the face of our modern awareness that everything is interdependent — that the parts affect the whole and vice-versa. So may this New Year be a time for us to rediscover that interdependence and balance, and to achieve that healing, health and wholeness which are what "holiness" is all about.
