A Thin Place

This morning the priest at my church spoke of a concept that I'd never heard of before- a thin place. This concept is a Celtic one. In an old Celtic saying heaven and earth are only three feet apart, but in the thin places that distance is even smaller. A thin place is where the veil that separates heaven and earth is lifted and one is able to receive a glimpse of the glory of God.

I like this conception of the world very much.

First, the notion that heaven and earth are only three feet apart is a wonderful way to concieve of our world and lives. How much effort would it take for us to close that gap? We would only need to take a step.

In Buddhism, there is a key concept of mindfulness- living with a deep awareness of what we are doing and what is around us. If we can live mindfully, perhaps we can be aware of just how close we are to 'heaven.'

We can see that heaven in the faces of those we love, in all the good things in our lives, in the joy of the ordinary.

A second aspect of the notion of a thin place is that there are times when the distance between heaven and earth is even less than normal. Here we stand on the knife's edge, able to see the divine if only divert our eyes ever so slightly in that direction rather than the earthly one.

These thin places are probably more common than we know. We probably lack the mindfulness to see them.

My wife and I just celebrated our anniversary. We watched video of our wedding with our two boys. Our wedding day- and every day since- was a thin place. I'm glad I didn't miss it- then or now.

When our first son was born, he was pre-mature. That was a thin place- in more ways than one, I suppose. He turned out perfect. (No need to excuse the conceit- he gets the perfection from his mother, not the Grey Pilgrim.) Our second son was born under less worrisome circumstances, but no less a thin place. What birth isn't miraculous?

But, we don't need to see this concept only in these 'special' moments in our lives. In fact, upon reflection I have come to think that I'm always at a thin place- only sometimes a bit thinner than others. If I'm mindful, I can take great comfort in this, and find great joy in this as well. If I can put my attention to 'heavenly' interests, not only earthly ones, how much richer will life be?

I have often directed attention to a verse in Luke (17:21) that has a couple of possible interpretations. Jesus says don't look here or there for the Kingdom of God for it is 'within' or 'among' you (entos in Greek). I usually like to emphasize 'within' because of the ramnifications it has for how we treat other people. However, it's not an either/or issue. 'Among' is the generally accepted translation- at least in Western Bibles. The concept of a thin place shows why the 'among' translation is a valid one- the Kingdom of God can be right here, if we are willing to close the gap and see the possiblities. Both translations are, in their own way, equally challenging for all of us.

I just thought I'd share this timeless wisdom I came to know only this morning.

GP

Some web links I found on thin places:
http://explorefaith.org/mystery/mysteryThinPlaces.html
http://justus.anglican.org/sabbath-blessings/1999/sb31.html
http://archive.typepad.com/brothertadhg/celtic_stuff/index.html