Thin Places

     Thomas Merton says that life is this simple – “we are living in a world that is absolutely transparent, and God is shining through it all the time.”   If we are open, we can see this frequently.  Marcus Borg describes these places where the two levels of reality meet as thin places.  It is also a place where our hearts are open.

     The season of Advent in which we anticipate and celebrate the incarnation is an opportunity to slow down and open our hearts to walk into these thin places where the veil separating the worlds is temporarily lifted.  These are stop in your tracks kind of moments.

     A few weeks ago I was given such an opportunity.  I traveled with a very small band of pilgrims to the Abby of Gethsemane.  I had been there before but never was allowed to go back into Merton’s hermitage.  A group went a number of years ago but I was not able to go.  You see only a small number are allowed at a time.

     Because of studying Merton for years and finding a true mentor, I have felt as though I have known him though I never knew him in the flesh.  I traveled the grassy hills of Kentucky that morning with expectation though I knew not what I was expecting.  On arriving we saw a film of Merton’s life and of the monastery.   After having lunch, Brother Paul led us on the walk back to the hermitage.

     As I crested the hill and caught a glimpse of this humble cinder block dwelling, I was stopped in my tracks. This was the place where a predecessor had come close to God and God had come close to him.   I literally did not want to make another step.  It was as if I could hear God’s voice saying, “take off your shoes, you are standing on holy ground.”  The emotion welled up within me and I longed to be alone with my tears.  The veil had temporarily been parted for me.

     The rest of our adventure was wonderful but that one moment was stopped in time for me.  I have thought a lot about that experience.  I imagine that those times are available daily, I just do not carry the same expectation and my heart is not always open.  I do believe that there are some physical places that may be thinner than others but I also believe that our ordinary places are on fire with the presence continuously.  We just may be too busy and distracted to see them. 

     That time taught me to walk expectantly every day with an open heart, in the humblest of tasks.  Let us do this together during Advent.   I believe we will all run into a thin place during this time of celebrating the incarnation – God with us.

P.S. I hope that there will be another opportunity for another group to venture to the hermitage.  I already know a few who would like to go!