St. Luke's Episcopal Church
Cleveland, Tennessee

Second Sunday after Pentecost
Matthew 6:24-34
The Rev. Deacon Art Bass

Thin Places

Jesus said, “Do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink . . . [or] what you will wear.” Do not worry, but “strive first for the kingdom of God.” These words from Jesus in today’s gospel passage are from the Sixth Chapter of Matthew. They are a part of the famous Sermon on the Mount, and they come just after Jesus has instructed the disciples how to pray, using the familiar form which we now call the Lord’s Prayer.

“Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.”

In Anglicanism during the past several decades, there has been a popular movement to rediscover and recapture some of the unique theological concepts and spiritual traditions of ancient Celtic Christianity. One such concept is the tradition of thin places.

As Christians, we recognize that with the resurrection of Jesus, the reign of Christ began. Jesus is lord, not just in heaven, but on earth as well. However, while the coming of the kingdom of God is a process which has begun, it is not yet fully realized. We live in a world which is awaiting the second coming, awaiting the final realization of God’s kingdom on earth in all its fullness.

But the Celtic Christians believed there were wonderful places - - places in this world, places rare and scattered - - where whatever separates and stands between this world and the kingdom of God was thinner, perhaps even transparent. These were the thin places, places where, while still in this earthly life, one could at least get a glimpse, a feeling, a hint of the experience of life in the kingdom.

I think I may have discovered such a place once. It was on a mountainside about two miles from my parent’s farm. I was twelve years old at the time, and I found it by accident, or perhaps an accident aided by the Spirit. It was not on any trail or path, but I made certain I knew how to get back there, and throughout my teen years and young adult years, I did go back, fairly often.

It was a beautiful spot, a level place about as large as this church building. There were trees, but not so many. In the summer, there was grass - - most unusual on the mountainside, and in the spring there were wildflowers. It was quiet there. The only sound I really remember was the sound of the wind in the trees.

But what really made the place special, what made it a thin place, although I did not know that term back then, was its unique ability to help me connect with God. I said a lot of prayers there. It was a place which inspired prayer. It was a place to privately celebrate and give thanks for the joys of life. It was also a place to confront and work through life’s problems, not with fear or anxiety, but peacefully and calmly, with the peace of Christ, if you will. It was a place to meditate, and a place sometimes just to sit quietly, be as open as possible, and listen.

When I read today’s gospel, and I saw that Jesus was saying, “do not worry,” do not become overly anxious about life’s details, but trust God, trust in me - - I remembered my mountainside thin place.

And I have talked a lot this morning about what a thin place is, but let me talk for just a moment about what it is not. It is not an escape. It is not a never-never land, where the sometime pains and harshness of life magically disappear.

A thin place allows us to glimpse the kingdom, but to glimpse it from the reality of this world. A thin place allows us to have something of a kingdom experience, but it is an experience perceived in our present life, here and now, with all of life’s beauty and all of its ugliness.

When Jesus says not to worry, but to trust in him, this is not a call to become a couch potato for Christ. Rather, it is a call to faith; it is a call to life. Jesus is saying, don’t spend your time worrying about life; live your life - - and live it in me. Live it doing God’s will. Live it doing the work God has called you to do.

Live seven days a week, but always looking toward the kingdom. Work, play, love and pray. Celebrate and cry. There truly is, in God’s purpose, a time for all things. But as Christians, do them all, live them all, looking to the kingdom.

Thin places facilitate our focus on the kingdom. They give us an opportunity to sort things out, to set our priorities with Christ and faith in him first and above all else.

You may not have known what to call it, and the name really doesn’t matter, but I suspect most of you have your own thin places.

I have not been back to my mountainside thin place in many years. My last visits there were in the early 1980’s as I contemplated my calling to ordination. But since then, rare as they are, I have found some other thin places.

In fact, this church has become my thin place. In my former parish, I had many good friends, wonderful and loving people, and I still have warm and cherished memories of that place and my experiences there, but for some reason, beyond my power to explain, for me, it never became a thin place.

Likewise, I cannot precisely articulate why this is a thin place. I know it has a lot to do with you, the people who are St. Luke’s, your love, your prayers, your ministry, and your caring. But there is something here, something good - - call it a spirit or an energy. Whatever it is, I find that it brings me close to God and close to his kingdom in a special way.

Perhaps you have had the same experience here. Perhaps St. Luke’s is your thin place too. But thin places can be anywhere. You can have more than one, and thin places are often different places for different people.

In fact, a thin place may not even be a place at all. It may be a special time, such as in the evening after putting your children to bed or the very early morning hours as you run or jog in your neighborhood.

But wherever they are, whatever they are, thin places help us to see the kingdom through the veil that hides it, and they prepare us for our work in helping to bring the kingdom to fruition.