I think it was Henri Nouwen who described the sanctuary as a valuable place because it was useless. You didn’t earn money, plan business strategies, produce products, etc in a sanctuary. When you entered a sanctuary you left the world behind and focused on your relationships with God and neighbor. (I realize that sometimes churches convert sanctuaries into useful rooms, but then they are not sanctuaries.)
In a sense, a sanctuary of a church might be considered a physical sabbath. The sabbath commandment prohibited all those useful and productive activities that we are always engaged in and redirected our focus on God and neighbor. Jesus’ summary of the commandments as love of God and neighbor has this same emphasis.
In the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5-7, there is a section in which Jesus cautions us against the draining power of anxiety. “Do not worry, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear?'” (6:31).
The nature of ministry in our time is filled with stress and a good measure of anxiety. For our own emotional health, we need to develop strategies in which we interrupt that stress by entering a sanctuary, whether physical or psychological, and refocus ourself. Even brief sabbaths of 10 to 20 minutes, practiced on a regular basis can have both a calming and rejuvinating effect on us.
Let me suggest a simple experiment. If you have either a watch or an electronic calendar that has an alarm built in, set it for 10:30 and 3:30 every day for a month. When the alarm goes off, enter a brief sabbath time in which you offer thanks to God for your life and God’s call in your life. If you are with someone when the alarm goes off, simply zone out for a minute for an interior prayer, or if that is impossible, make a note to do that at the first opportunity. If you are not with someone or can excuse yourself, perhaps for a bathroom break, enter the stall and spend 5 minutes alone with God. The objective is not measured in length of time but the regularity of interrupting your day twice to enter a sanctuary that helps you stay in touch with that which is important.
Try it and let me know what happens for you.
