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Christ
Episcopal Church
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Riverton, New Jersey |
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The Circle is in the Square July 2005 Grace be
unto you and peace from God our Father Anne, Katie and I, as part of our just completed journey
across the Atlantic this summer, were able to travel from England to Paris
for a few days. On the evening of our arrival, we took a boat trip along the
Seine the river which winds through the heart of the city. The highlight of
the tour is to sail past the great Notre Dame Cathedral, located on the
island where the city was born centuries before. Seeing this glorious
monument lit up against the dark sky was an inspiring moment, and we looked
forward to visiting it the next morning. The church is equally magnificent during the day. But the
experience was a disappointment. The one certainty when traveling in July in
Europe is that you will encounter crowds and sacred spaces like Notre Dame
are no exception. The aisles were jammed, the noise of thousands of voices
deafening, the views punctuated by constant photoflashes. All in all, rush
hour at Grand Central Station in New York, my personal benchmark of bedlam, seemed
a definition of decorum next to this. To see such seeming lack of respect for
a house of God was disheartening. After muscling my way through the entrance line to return
my audio tour, I picked up a brochure which described the west end (the ‘front
door’) side of this magnificent church. I elbowed my way back through the
line (after saying ‘excuse me’, ‘sorry’, ‘pardon’, ‘scusi’,
and ‘entschuldigen’ all to no avail) to position
myself properly. At the center of the wall is the great rose window through
which streams all the glorious colors of the rainbow. The stories depicted in
the glass I knew, but I was thrown by the description of an architectural
detail I had not noticed until then – that the vast round window is set into
a square. And this was not just a random event, or even an architectural
flourish. Rather, like virtually everything in the cathedral, it was done on
purpose and has symbolic and theological meaning. The square symbolizes the earth or creation in general. In
an era when the planet was thought to be flat, it was said to have four
corners. A vestige of this is the four cardinal directions of north, south,
east and west. The circle stands for infinity or eternity. Thus one sees in
stone and glass the story of the eternal God set in and a part of the worldly
realm. As I contemplated this insight, my visit to the Cathedral was
redeemed. I realized that God was in the midst of all the hubbub and
chaos around me. I began to hum ‘Where cross the crowded ways of life’ (Hymn
609), and in doing so, more fully understood the meaning of the lyrics. Where cross the
crowded ways of life, The circle was indeed in the square. Our lives are often busy, situations can frequently be
difficult, our eyes focused on the immediate, the task at hand. Yet God is
ever present in creation, and seeks to make the divine known in our midst,
even when countless events crowd our gaze. These glimpses of grace need not
be a Gothic cathedral. For a God who is set in our midst, who
sent Christ Jesus as one of us, will, by the Spirit, use that created order
to be revealed. The laugh of a child, a flower blooming in the crack of a
sidewalk, or a random act of kindness done or witnessed are just as likely to
move our hearts and minds heavenward. All that is needed is enough of a
relationship with God to recognize the divine when we experience it. And what
I find wonderful is that even though I had this experience two weeks ago as I
write this, I am still filled with joy, awe and peace whenever I return to
that place in my mind. For grace is one gift that keeps on giving, insights
keep coming, the living waters continuing to refresh. Seek the LORD while he may be found, call upon him
while he is near (Isaiah 55:6), for the circle is indeed in the square,
the divine is in our midst. Blessings |
