Cannot be contained or controlled

The psalmist in the texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today proclaims the great joy in being in the house of the Lord. This image is fruit for thought. Solomon’s prayer recognizes that even though we try to arrange to place the Divine in our spaces, the universe itself cannot contain the Lord. The “holy place” though is something that people experience. Celtic tradition referred to these places as “thin”. Heaven and earth were “close” in these places. Mark reveals Jesus proclamation against the hypocrisy which can become part of our attempt to control the relationship with the Divine or to use our religious obligation or rules of observance to block the loving action which would be the fruit of a true realization of the indwelling Spirit, present in the humble house of our being.