In his work, Liberating Rites; Understanding the Transformative Power of Ritual, Tom Driver observes: “one of the ways in which ritual, religion, and liberative action are alike is that they all construct alternative worlds, nourishing themselves with imaginative visions. Different from ordinary life they move in a kind of liminal space, at the edge of, or in the cracks between, the mapped regions of what we like to call ‘the real world’ (page 80).”
When we think about the spiritual quality of thresholds, liminality enters the conversation. To pass through a genuine threshold is to leave behind one reality and enter a space that was previously unimagined. What lies on the other side is yet to be seen and experienced – it is as Driver labels, “unmapped..” Though this might raise concern and fear in our hearts, it also holds a great potential for transformation.
For me, Eucharist moves through liminal space. People who might otherwise never interact (e.g., across generations, gender, sexual orientations, divergent political perspectives, and economic status) come to the threshold of the altar to share in the cup of Christ and the breaking of bread. At this moment that is off-the-map of the way things usually are in life, there is a potential for things to be different. New possibilities emerge: what if teenagers are not from another planet? What if God loves gays and lesbians for the created people they are? What if political rivals want the same things for other people’s children? What if justice and freedom are universal rights? What if foreigners share our hopes, fears, and needs? What if? Looking across the communion rail, seeing the other eat the same bread, participating in the same body of Christ, there is an opportunity for us to change our hearts. In these liminal moments, where ordinary meets extraordinary, new pathways can be mapped out.
As we gather around the communion table with our hands open, ready to participate in the mystical body of Christ, we are at a potential threshold moment, where God might transform our lives. Within this moment, there is a space for the Spirit to work, for things to shift, for everything to change, for transformation to take place.
Of course, thresholds exist beyond the Eucharist. To suggest otherwise would demonstrate a lack of understanding about liminality. What is more, to say that each time we go to receive communion that we are entering a threshold moment is equally uninformed. You can’t script liminality or spiritual thresholds. Just as we can’t make the Spirit do our bidding, we can’t fabricate spiritual encounters. The best we can do is to create some space and time into which we can enter with an open and yearning heart knowing that God desires communion and connection with our life.
With great humility, we approach thresholds and liminality. Unable to orchestrate, conjure, or demand – we find ourselves in the relational place of invitation and expectation. In this place, our words and actions are open enough to allow for the unscripted, the un-usual, the broken, and the messy. Our words and actions are courageous enough to enter the uncertainty of the present with all its fears and interject a vision for the future. Our words and actions await the ongoing work of creating that God is doing in, through, and in spite of us
Silent Prayer:
Find a comfortable place to sit. Set your phone or watch for five minutes. Close your eyes. Breathe deeply. As thoughts come to your mind – push them aside. Now is not the time. Trust in God to hold your life without needing to control it with our thoughts or actions. At the end of your time – say a simple “thank you” or “Amen.” Tomorrow, we will build on this spiritual practice by adding more time. Consider the time spent in silent prayer as an Advent gift – an opportunity to enter into God’s shalom/peace.
Today’s Silent Prayer Goal – FIVE minutes
Scripture:
Isaiah 43: 1- 2
But now thus says the Lord, he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you.
Thank you for reading the fifth blog of this Advent series. If it was meaningful to you, please feel free to like it below or share it with your friends. You may also leave a comment. Blessings on the journey as we head through this season of Advent together. In Christ, Walt.