In the First Testament reading from 1 Kings, Solomon oversees a particularly sacred and solemn moment: bringing the ark of the covenant, Israel’s sacred symbol of the presence of God, into the newly built temple in Jerusalem. A cloud fills the temple when the ark is set in its place in the “Holy of Holies,” adding to the effect. And Solomon prays a heartfelt prayer for the presence and blessing of God to be with Israel. It is Israel’s effort to bring God home.
In the midst of this, Solomon generously prays that non-Israelite “foreigners” might know the blessing of God when they “pray toward this house.”
Of course, we know that God cannot be housed in one place. It’s only a symbol, a grand gesture, as is any sacred site or holy place. In his speech Solomon himself even admits this: “Even heavens and the highest heaven cannot contain you, much less this house that I have built!” And the rest of the texts support this theme: “Even the sparrow finds a home, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may lay her young, at your altars, O LORD of hosts, my King and my God.” Psalm 84.
This summer has been chaotic and multi-transitional for my family; we have spent these last months housed, but not at Home. And I’ve had to learn and re-learn a classic spiritual lesson: home is within.
The Divine is not housed in sticks and bricks. The Ground of Being does not rest on any earthly foundation. Like the Ark of the Covenant carried with poles, like a snail with a shell on its back, I carry Home within myself. To “abide in Christ” (John 6:56) is to abide everywhere, and nowhere, and in the secret place of soul.
God, we lift to you all of us who are, or who feel, homeless:
Spiritually homeless,
Politically homeless,
Cast out from families or communities,
Refugees forced from homes,
And those who are in need of physical housing.*….