There are places in this world the Celts called "thin places" where the eternal touches the finite in ways we cannot explain. Old, sacred places around the world, when we enter them, we feel the Spirit in ways we don't often do. I also think there are "thin times" when the Spirit enters and is part of our lives in ways we are not fortunate enough to experience all our lives.
This last weekend was one of those "thin times" for me. We were celebrating the fifth year of my friend Murray's ordination to the diaconate and had special music and celebrations. At one moment the choir was transcendently singing the seven-fold Amen, and I felt God's Spirit, and in that moment of thinness between this world and the next, I also felt communion with my father. It was the first time since he passed away.
I am blogging this after spending an evening at a local coffee shop, and am starting to interact with people there. I met a nice woman who had been healed from cancer. I am curious how that has changed her, I hope I will find out.
What what a connected, Spirit-filled world we live in!
† Come, Holy Spirit
I've made he pilgrimage to Iona twice. Once alone and once with my brother-in-law. Scotland has s uch a rich tapestry, its placement on the globe making it vulnerable to intricate changes in the lighting, the moisture in the air. You understand why the Celts felt it was a meeting place of the world of heaven and earth.
Posted by: Tim Sean | June 25, 2008 at 09:24 AM
Perhaps my age and my being a grandfather have caused me to discover more "thin places" in the mundane than ever before in my life. I love that rare moment and yet life is filled with them. I'm usually just to busy or distracted to notice.
Thank you, Terry for reminding me that the "distance between" is so paper thin.
Posted by: Jeff | June 25, 2008 at 03:07 PM
I have created several thin spaces for myself over my life: always outdoors, always remote. My current "place of power" is a swamp in Mass. It's my cathedral; it's where I find God.
Posted by: Charlie Sutphin | March 04, 2010 at 12:15 PM