Monday, July 10, 2023

Thin Places (July 9) by Rev. Robert McDowell


July 9, 2023

     Last Sunday, I encouraged us to be on the look-out for the “thin place moments” that happen in our everyday lives. “Thin place moments” come to us from Celtic Christianity which emphasizes how heaven and earth often overlap, creating these thin spaces in which we experience God’s presence in the course of our everyday lives.

     We also refer to these thin places as “God moments” in which Christ is made known to us in ways that gives us holy goose bumps. Those goose bumps are like those “aha moments” we sometimes have when it dawns us that we are in the presence of God.

     Some thin place moments are more dramatic than others. Many are more subtle. And some of them just have a way of putting a smile on our face like this story about a woman named Kelly Ramey in Missouri who says that she found Jesus in a bag of Cheetos. 

     When she opened her bag of Cheetos, she noticed a mini orange sculpture that resembled Jesus. She has even given it a name. She calls it… “Cheesus” not with the letter “J” but with the letters, “CH.” “Cheesus.” 

     I’m not sure if that fits the definition of a “thin place moment,” but who am I to judge? I would rather us err on the side of seeing “Cheesus” than on the side of not seeing “Cheesus.” If we believe that God is present everywhere than why wouldn’t we have more of these God sightings through our day-to-day living, even while eating snacks.

     As I mentioned last Sunday, being alert to these holy moments and then sharing our “thin place moments” with others are what help us to have a growing personal relationship with God. These thin places remind us that we are not alone! God is with us in a very real way.

     Today’s appointed Psalm reading is Psalm 145. It’s a psalm that encourages us to share our “thin place moments.” Listen again to verse 4 in which the psalmist is praying to God, “One generation shall commend your works to another, and shall declare your mighty acts.”

     I love it that we can gather every Sunday to worship and praise God for all of God’s mighty acts. Psalm 145 is a psalm that emphasizes the importance of worship. It’s where we encourage each other by sharing how we have experienced God’s presence in our lives.

     I have been in pastoral ministry for almost 40 years now, which means that I have preached many, many sermons, like probably around a thousand sermons! That’s a lot of hot air! 

     You would think that I would eventually run out of new things to say. But I don’t because there are always going to be new “thin place moments” to share; not just my “thin place moments,” but other “thin place moments” that people have shared with me. 

     Sometimes, I know on the spot that I am experiencing a “thin place moment” and other times, it’s only upon reflection, that I look back on a time and then realize, “wow, God was with me in that situation and I didn’t even notice it. That was a ‘thin place moment.’” And I also wonder how many “thin place moments” I miss just because I wasn’t attentive or open to God’s presence in my life.

     I also wonder how many thin place moments that I, for whatever reason, end up not sharing with others. Today’s psalmist wants us to share our God moments with each other because that’s what it means to share our faith the good news of Christ with others.

     Last Sunday, I shared one of my “thin place moments” with you about the time when Penny and I were waiting to be introduced at a new church appointment and I noticed that my initials were on a sign at the local shopping mall. It turned out that those initials weren’t about my name but about the name of that shopping mall. I still think it was more than a coincidence that my initials were on that “floor is wet caution sign!”

     Here’s another “thin place moment” which happened to me during my time at that church a few years later. Some thin place moments just stick with you for a long time and this is one of them.

     A couple of years into my ministry at that church, a church member told me about this family who had a young boy in elementary school. They weren’t affiliated with any church and this church member wanted to know if I would be willing to make a pastoral visit with this family. And of course, I said yes. This little boy’s name was Brandon and he had terminal cancer. 

     I quickly learned in just the first few minutes of our conversation that Brandon was a very special young boy. He had an incredible sense of humor and asked me all kinds of questions about heaven and God. And then he wanted to know if I would be willing to baptize him. He didn’t have any connection with a church and yet he had all of these questions about faith. 

     I told him that I would be glad to baptize him during my next visit with him. So I shared with him about the meaning of baptism and I remember him listening very intently to every word I was saying. He was like a sponge, absorbing all of this. But then, he put his hand in the air because he had a question.

     And I said, “What’s your question?” And with a serious look on his face, Brandon said to me, “I have to pee.”  That was Brandon. Just a fun, loving, young boy who wanted to learn about God and his faith. 

     And the thing that stood out the most for me about Brandon was that he wasn’t afraid about talking about dying. In fact, he would bring this up several times when we met. And one of the things he said to me and to his family over and over again was that he would be sending us butterflies from heaven to let us know that he was OK. 

     During my next visit with Brandon, a brought a couple members of my church, and there in the living room of Brandon’s grandmother, I baptized Brandon. He was so happy, and it meant so much to him.

    Brandon ended up dying just a few months later and I ended up officiating for his funeral. One of the items that the family had on display next to his casket was his baptism certificate. That’s how much his baptism meant to him. 

     A few months following Brandon’s funeral, I needed to make some visits at the hospital. And for some reason, instead of going my typical route on the main roads to the hospital, I went a back way which was longer and took me through neighborhoods.

     And this route took me by the house of where Brandon lived. As I was driving by, I noticed that Brandon’s grandmother was sitting on the front steps of the house, and so I decided to pull over and see how she had been doing since the funeral. 

     She was so glad to see me, and with tears in her eyes, she said that a little later that morning, she would be going to the cemetery to watch them place the personalized headstone at Brandon’s grave. 

     Together, we shared a few stories about Brandon, how he had a great sense of humor and how he showed so much faith in facing his death. We laughed and we cried as we sat together on those front steps of her home.

     And then the strangest thing happened that I will never forget. As this grandmother was sharing with me, a butterfly gently landed on her arm. And we both became silent, and then we just looked at each other in disbelief. Neither of us had to say a word in that holy moment. Brandon was already sending us butterflies from heaven. 

     After a few moments of silence, this grandmother’s tears of sadness became tears of joy. And then we prayed together, right there on those front steps, thanking God for sending us that butterfly at just the right moment.

     Here’s what I love about “thin place moments.” They can happen to us in any given moment, and when we least expect it. And they remind us that God isn’t just wait up in heaven somewhere but is instead closer to us than we can even imagine. 

      This is why our psalmist today is praying, “One generation shall commend your works to another, and shall declare your mighty acts.”

     God gives us many opportunities for us to experience a little of heaven on earth. We refer to these opportunities as “means of grace” which help us to be more alert and attentive to God’s presence in our lives.

     Means of grace include worshipping together on Sunday mornings, sharing in the Sacraments, reading our bibles, spending time in prayer, serving those in need, being part of a small fellowship group, enjoying God’s beautiful creation, and sharing with each other how God has been present with us through times of joy as well as times of sorrow. 

     What a privilege it is to be a co-traveler with you on this faith journey. You just never know how God will be made present in ways that will sometimes leave us speechless.  As the psalmist says in his prayer for today, “Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised!”

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