The Christian world is filled with basilicas, cathedrals, shrines, temples, churches, sanctuaries, chapels. The creation of a sacred space is important to the Christian faithful as a way to encounter God. The Jewish world, Rabbi Abraham Heschel reminded us, focuses not so much on sacred space as sacred time. (During the 4000 year history of the chosen people in less than a thousand of those years was there a temple.) The Bible describes sacred time found in the three great pilgrimage feasts. “These are the festivals of the LORD which you shall celebrate at their proper time with a sacred assembly.” Even without a temple to gather the people the Jewish faithful carve out time as their way to connect to God. Of course, every week the Sabbath exists as a “cathedral of time.” Christians need to recover the importance of sacred time. Stores are now open on Sunday, the Friday fast is not practiced, Advent is neglected, Lent seems like any other season. We must create new sacred times that fit our current environment since time is among God’s greatest of gifts.
