This week's Gospel recounts Jesus cleansing the temple in Jerusalem. It invites us to reflect on how and where we find God, how we treat the sacred, and the place of Jesus in our lives.
Jesus went up to Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover. He is on pilgrimage with so many other Jews of his time. He undertakes a journey of encounters
that many seekers have undertaken throughout history.
In Celtic spirituality, they have this idea of “thin places” - places where the veil between God’s world and our world seems to be thinner. God’s presence is more easily discerned. These “thin places” became sites for pilgrimage and devotion. People went to them in search of an encounter with the divine.
For the
Jews, Jerusalem was the ultimate “thin place”. It was where God dwelled and was present to his chosen people. The temple was the centre of their worship and devotion. Jerusalem means “the city of peace” - where we are in right relationship (shalom, peace) with God, creation and others.
All of us have our own “thin places”. For some people, it is in the Church; for others, it is in nature. Many of us have taken pilgrimages in
search of God in some holy place. For some, God is found on the road itself. While we know that God is everywhere, there are some places in which it is easier for us to experience that presence than in others.
Where are your “thin places”? Where have you encountered God? Where do you more readily become aware of God’s presence? How did these places become “thin places”? Do you ever make pilgrimages to these places, returning to the
places of encounter?
Reflections by Sean van Staden SJ
