Jesus is said to have taught “as one having authority,” unlike the professionally trained, culturally indoctrinated experts of his day. Where might we find such a voice today (especially in today’s presidential campaign)? Someone who speaks truth clearly without personal or partisan spin? Who delivers trustworthy information and not more better-than-the-other-guy campaign rhetoric? To me, no one seems to stand out as having genuine authority.

Much of Jesus’ authority, it seems to me, rested in the fact that he did not try to speak persuasively for one side or another on any of the pressing issues of his day. Instead, he called people to a unity that embraced and bridged even the most difficult differences in a genuine, inclusive community where people truly valued one another in spite of, or maybe because of, their differences.

“Thin places,” the Celtic tradition calls them, places where the veil separating heaven and earth is lifted so we catch a glimpse of realms eternal, just a glimpse of the glory of God. There’s a Celtic saying that heaven and earth are only three feet apart, just close enough – almost – to reach from here to there and touch the eternal, yet just far enough away that we usually don’t see it. But there are places where the distance is less, where the veil separating heaven and earth is thin, almost transparent, and where we can almost pass from this side to that, if only for a moment.

This week, spend time with practices that bring you closer to the thin places in life, that bring you closer to the life that is full and abundant and that bears much fruit. You know where the thin places are in your life. Take time to go there, to those places or events or people through whom you come closer to touching or being touched by the eternal.

Peace,
Pastor Rich