The Kitchen Sink
An occasional piece of paper
August 30, 2009
Vol. 12 no. 33

Everything But...
I know that this will be considered heresy by some, but today I am going to use last week’s Lectionary reading. No rending of garments, please, but throwing your hands up in the air is allowed. My reason for this out of season selection is that last week I felt Ephesians deserved some seldom given attention, yet, 1 Kings also had something very important for us to hear, but I didn’t have the time to explore it then. So then is now.

Ancient Israel fought some of the same battles we still fight, especially regarding the shape and content of our religious faith and its activities. They knew as we do in our best moments that when we become stuck in one place, our minds become stuck as well. We believe we have painted God into the corner of our vaunted cathedrals, but that is often the time when God has left the building. God is not required to live in these sanctuaries, but we build them anyway just in case.

Rather than build a cathedral, the seat of God, the Israelites began to carry it around with them in the form of the Ark of the Covenant. For those of you haven’t seen The Raiders of the Lost Ark (!), the Ark was a big rectangular gilded box that shaped like the throne or chair of God. Reputedly containing the original stone tablets of the Ten Commandments, it was transported on strong shoulders wherever the people and army of Israel went. So wherever they were located, that was the centre of the universe for God was sitting among them. No temple needed - and in fact, they didn’t want one, fearing their faith would become stuck in one place.

Being all too human, terribly human, the Israelites still wanted one place. Solomon built a temple anyway and had a lot of explaining to do, and that’s where we begin today in our sanctuary.