Is Nothing Sacred Anymore?

“Is there nothing sacred anymore?” We hear this question asked when people hear unbecoming things said of things worthy of respect. But it’s also a great question to ask, even in the literal sense. In our increasingly secular world, it is difficult to find respect for the truly sacred. Even in our own church, we now find it necessary to ask people to silence their cell phones, keep their talking to a minimum, not bring excessive food into the church as a form of entertainment for their kids, and to remove their bulletins and clean up their own mess.

So if we struggle with remembering what is sacred, imagine people who have never been in a church with icons. Often called Windows into Heaven, icons by their very nature sanctify space. To be more specific, icons reveal space as sacred, making manifest the hidden reality of the presence of God all around us.

After months of planning, this Saturday’s “Beyond the Image” event will be a time in which we invite people of all faiths and backgrounds–or no faith background at all–to encounter the beauty the Church offers us in her iconography. The exhibits that have been carefully planned, the wonderful speakers that have been chosen, and most especially the chance to be surrounded by the icons of the church are a gift that we can enjoy but also share with our friends, neighbors and coworkers.

I look forward to sharing the time with you this Saturday, and meeting the friends that you will bring with you. Come for the whole time from 1-6 if you can, or just come for a while. You’ll be blessed by any amount of time you spend appreciating this precious gift. May this day be a reminder to all of us that the sanctity of life is not gone and that we live in the midst of much beauty. And we’ll be reminded that–in the words of people who saw Christ at work in their midst—”God has visited his people.” Thankfully, there is still much that is sacred in the world.