He erected an altar…
Whew! It’s hard to keep up with the kings, their children and the status of a united or divided Israel. Luckily, there are reminders. He did what was evil in the Lord’s sight, or he did what was good in the Lord’s sight. It appears that there were more evil kings than good during this period.
Ahab was king, and was more evil than his ancestors, many of whom were pretty bad. He marries Jezebel, and erected an altar to Baal. I can imagine that he believed he was doing something good, erecting an altar to the god he was worshipping.
The accompanying reflection is from Eugene Peterson and talks about sanctuaries. Sanctuaries can remind us that there’s more to life than our current circumstances and emotions. We cannot help but sense God’s presence in and around us. There have been a few places, in buildings and in nature, where I have had that sense of God’s presence, God’s immensity and my place in the world.
One of two things happen when we are in a sanctuary, reminded of God. At their best, sanctuaries can remind us that we are part of a bigger story, that God has big plans for us, and we can sense our part in that bigger story. We leave the space renewed and open to God’s love in the world.
At their worst, a sanctuary can isolate us from the outside world, and give us a sense of separation and superiority. We encounter God in our special and precious place, and leave with a sense of advantage over others. We use sanctuaries to cultivate all the wrong things, and leave conniving to carry out our wrong thinking. As Peterson writes, “Every time we enter a holy place and become aware of the presence of a holy God, we leave either better or worse.”
The challenge for me is two-fold. First, like Ahab, am I building sanctuaries or spaces worshipping the wrong thing? I must admit in these Zoom times, I sometimes covet the good-looking, holy-looking backgrounds of my colleagues. Do I want to build a prayer corner because it looks good? It has the right icons? Am I worshipping the beauty, or using the beauty to worship God? I don’t think Ahab believed he was doing wrong; he was just misguided in what he thought was right. I need to guard against that.
The other challenge is that I need to be sure that I’m leaving the encounter with God more loving and more open, rather than more superior or more cold-hearted. People of all kinds of faith can develop a religious snobbery, thinking that their kind of religion, worship, practices, that these are the true right way. At my worst, I can easily fall in to this, and think that my way is superior. At my best, I remember that my way is just one way. It is the best way for me to connect with God now, but certainly isn’t right for everyone.
This morning I’m thinking about how to be aware and guard against all the dangers that holy spaces can pose.
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