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| Dr. Andy Cullen July 8, 2007
Rolling Hills Presbyterian Church
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Moses was keeping the flock of his father-in-law Jethro, the priest of Midian; he led his flock beyond the wilderness, and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. There the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire out of a bush; he looked, and the bush was blazing, yet it was not consumed. Then Moses said, ‘I must turn aside and look at this great sight, and see why the bush is not burned up.’ When the Lord saw that he had turned aside to see, God called to him out of the bush, ‘Moses, Moses!’ And he said, ‘Here I am.’ Then he said, ‘Come no closer! Remove the sandals from your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.’ He said further, ‘I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.’ And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God. Exodus 3: 1-6
Six days later, Jesus took with him Peter and James and John, and led them up a high mountain apart, by themselves. And he was transfigured before them, and his clothes became dazzling white, such as no one on earth could bleach them. And there appeared to them Elijah with Moses, who were talking with Jesus. Then Peter said to Jesus, ‘Rabbi, it is good for us to be here; let us make three dwellings, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.’ He did not know what to say, for they were terrified. Then a cloud overshadowed them, and from the cloud there came a voice, ‘This is my Son, the Beloved; listen to him!’ Suddenly when they looked around, they saw no one with them any more, but only Jesus. Mark 9: 2-8
We are in a four-week series on Thin Places. This week focusing on People & Places.
A quick review: The term, “thin places” comes from Celtic Christianity. There are two layers or dimensions of reality to our existence: the visible world of our ordinary experience and the unseen world of the Spirit. Sometimes the curtain is drawn back and we “see” or experience that unseen world.
Places where people feel most strongly connected with God’s presence are referred to as thin places. It is in these places where the seen and unseen worlds are most closely connected and inhabitants of both worlds can momentarily touch the other.
We see this reflected in Moses’ encounter with God on the mountain. We see this when Peter, James and John are on the mountain with Jesus and Elijah and Moses appear to them.
We can broaden our definition of a “thin place” to include much more than just a geographical location…. “a thin place is a sacrament of the sacred, a mediator of the sacred, a means whereby God become present to us. A thin place is a means of grace…..” (See Marcus Borg’s The Heart of Christianity)
When our hearts are opened to the presence of God in a special way we are experiencing a thin place.1
One of our members shared with me the following experiences of thin places and I have permission to share them with you:
Please give me a call or email me if you would like to share your experiences of thin places.
In his book Further Along The Road Less Traveled, Scott Peck writes, “People are at various stages of readiness, and when they’re ready, virtually anything can speak to them.”
Moses experienced this…. “Moses was keeping the flock of his father-in-law Jethro, the priest of Midian; he led his flock beyond the wilderness, and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. There the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire out of a bush…” A bush!!!!!!!!!
Consider the following story:
A minister was shaking hands with the congregation after the service, and at the end of the line there was a man whom he had seen only occasionally in church. The man came up and said, “Reverend, Reverend, what you said in your sermon was exactly what I needed to hear. Thank you, very, very much. It was so helpful to me. It is going to revolutionize my life. Thank you, thank you. The minister, quite pleased, said, “I’m glad I said something that was helpful to you, and I’m curious – what in particular was it?”
The man said, “Well you may remember, you began your sermon by saying that you wanted to talk to us about two things this morning, and then in the middle you said, ‘That completes this first part of what I wanted to tell you and now it’s time I moved on to the second part of my message.’ And at that moment I realized I had come the end of the first part of my life, and it was high time that I got on to the second part. Thank you, Reverend, thank you, very much.” (As related in Further Along The Road Less Traveled by Scott Peck)
God can speak in very unusual ways!
(By the way, did you hear about the person who greeted the minister after the Sunday service by saying, “Pastor, every sermon you preach is better than the next one!”)
About six years ago I was asking God many questions. I was coming to a fresh understanding of many faith issues. I was discovering that God’s grace was much more inclusive and diverse than I had ever before imagined. I was discovering new things about myself and seemed to be finding my own voice in ministry. In that process I was confronted with some doubts and fears. One day, driving back home, I pulled in behind a car with a license plate that read: OK2BME. It was God’s message to me! (But be careful, not every license plate is a message from God!) But when we are ready God can use virtually anything to speak to us!
Let’s turn our attention to people. People can become thin places….in fact, we are in the process of becoming thin places….God shining through us more and more…
We can probably think of someone through whom we have experienced God… the risen Christ… the Spirit, in unusual way.
The disciples experienced Jesus in this way. “WHO IS THIS?”
It may be a word or sentence…a brief encounter with someone. After college, in 1970, I was traveling in Europe. In Switzerland I remember having a very short conversation with another American. In that brief exchange he said he was trying to determine what God wanted him to do with his life. I’ll never forget that. I was just trying to find good Swiss chocolate! His words helped shape the course of my life.
Nancy and I watched the movie Ghandi several weeks ago. Ghandi was a thin place. His life impacted a whole nation and even the world. His non-violent principles continue to shape many people today.
I think of several people who have been thin places for me. These people are filled with grace, acceptance, mercy…. I can talk about anything…
God is present in their lives in an unusual way.
Think about the places in your lives that have functioned as thin places. I think of walking at Happy Rock Park in Gladstone….or fly-fishing in Colorado’s Rocky Mountain National Park….being encountered by God in those places.
We often experience God “at table.” We gather with friends or family to share a meal. Eating together is a rather intimate activity. We experience God’s living presence through others as we partake of food and conversation. We probably have great memories of church pot-luck suppers!
The late Trappist monk, Thomas Merton said, “We are living in a world that is absolutely transparent, and God is shining through all the time…. God shows Himself everywhere, in everything – in people and in things and in nature and in events. It becomes very obvious that God is everywhere and in everything and we cannot be without him.”
Jesus is with us. God is with us. The Spirit is with us. May we experience and encounter God in many thin places. 1 See The Heart of Christianity by Marcus Borg, pp.155-163)
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