What does profane even mean?
I was in New York City this last weekend and I had so much fun exploring. At one point, I was inside a cathedral along with a bunch of other tourists. I wondered how and when churches became more like a museums. These days they are less a place of worship and more just a relic of the past. I am not sure if this is sad to me or just the way of progress. Surely, Jesus is no less important or central to our lives. It’s just these old stuffy Catholic Churches, right?
I no longer worship at a Catholic Church and I’m a big believer that worship doesn’t need all the fancy stained glass and gold accoutrements, so I understand people moving away from this type of worship. But are they moving away from all worship? That would be a shame. The older I get the more I recognize that worship is my only response to God. It is one of the commitments to myself I made at the beginning of this year, I promised myself to walk more, write more and worship more, acknowledging these are things that bring me closer to God.
“Worship is the awed response to the saving acts and praiseworthy character of God.” (I appreciate this definition from Lexham Theological Workbook.) We should never stop responding in awe to God’s character and actions so don’t we need a place to do this? I’m a big believer that worship can take place on a mountain, at the ocean or standing at the kitchen counter drinking coffee. But there is something about a building that was created to inspire people to worship. A place dedicated to bringing believers together to worship in community. I mean, we CAN worship anywhere, but DO we? WILL we?
As I was walking out of the cathedral, the first thing I saw was a huge ad from Victoria’s Secret the just said, “SEXY.” I chuckled and the phrase, “Sacred and Profane” popped into my head. It is a familiar phrase but I couldn’t place it. I looked it up and realized there are many books, articles, and YouTube videos discussing it. It turns out a man named Durkheim, a French sociologist born in 1858, came up with this concept.
According to Durkheim, Sacred things transcend the things of our daily life. Sacred things are placed on a pedestal to be honored and respected. The profane are things that are mundane and ordinary. Sacred things are set apart, holy, extraordinary and can be reached through prayers and rituals. Profane things are things we encounter daily in our lives and can include jobs, public transportation, convenience food, normal, everyday things. Profane does not always mean evil but refers to something that is not sacred.
A candle in some instances is profane, just an ordinary thing. But when the Catholic Church adds candles as part of a ritual to pray for loved ones, then those candles are elevated to be sacred objects.
Yep, here it is. My view as I exited the cathedral.
As I walked through the city all weekend I had this thought. How can we train ourselves to find the sacred in the midst of the profane? Will we pray to God for eyes to see like He sees? Will we, through prayer and reading the Scriptures, become so intimate with God that we will recognize His presence in our everyday, monotonous lives?
In the midst of a city that smells like weed and crime is rampant, will we recognize the kind stranger offering help to the homeless? Will we be that kind stranger? Will we perceive God is doing a new thing, even in an old city? Will we be an instrument of His peace among the chaos of the screaming sirens and honking horns?
Another thing that came to mind…Why do “religious” people tend to get offended and call things “evil” when maybe they are just ordinary? And the other side of that coin, Why do we dismiss things as just ordinary when we should recognize them as “against God”? What is the difference and how do we discern it?
Here are some journal prompts for you inspired by my weekend in New York City.
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- Why do you live where you live?
- In what type of place do you feel most inspired and why?
- When do you feel most connected to the sacred?
- How do you worship? Where do you worship?
- What are you calling evil that is just ordinary?
- What are you calling ordinary that is actually evil?
- How does an old fashioned Catholic Cathedral make you feel?
- What are some rituals that make you feel close to God?
- How have you felt God’s presence in the midst of chaos?
- Where is God calling you now?
Lord, thank you for walking with us wherever we go.
Give us discernment and wisdom as we navigate this world.
Lead us.
Show us the way.
