If you’ve read any of Stephen King’s writings, you’ve likely encountered something ... well ... unexpected. Often, that “unexpected” is from somewhere else. And it came over through thin places (or thinnies). King uses thin places to great effect. Those of us who have read a lot of King realize that most of the King-verse is connected by those thinnies.
Sometimes, King has people “walk in” from one of those elsewheres. Other times, what comes over is something ... other. Sometimes, it’s weather (really). And, surprising to many, what King moves into our reality through those thinnies isn’t always bad. Sometimes, it’s very, very good.
I encountered my own thin place one morning.
Everything about that morning was unexpected. First, it was cool-ish ... in the middle of a very hot summer. Also, I was early; much earlier than the commuter rail usually delivered me downtown. The morning was still dawning.
And, I was completely caught off guard by the birds.
Walking along, I suddenly found myself serenaded. On my right was a small pocket park, deep in the heart of the city, and its trees were packed full of singing birds. I stopped and just let their song wash over me. For several long minutes, I was fully wrapped in their voices.
God-seekers have been finding thin places for millennia; patches where the reality of Heaven crosses over into this physical realm for a time. When asked to identify a place where they feel closer to God, people will often describe high mountains, majestic waterfalls, peaceful stretches of ocean, or a moment of absolute silence in an ancient meeting place. But, these kinds of thin places are personal, so they could be anywhere.
And, yes, people often erect edifices to mark those places. In this week’s scriptures, we see that Jacob did just that. This was his second God encounter —The first time was on the west side of the Jordan River where he had a peek through to a stairway to heaven. (Genesis 28)— This time, Jacob wrestled with an angel (on the east side of the Jordan). Neither was planned by him. Neither was expected by him. They were arranged by God, on God's timetable.
In modern times, we tend to describe our thin place experiences as "feeling closer" to God (or, as one friend suggested, "not as far from God as I usually am.") However you want to describe it, that unexpected birdsong serenade was my thin place. I felt that God was there, in that moment, sharing a portion of His creation with me. I was moved to do something I rarely do; I wrote a poem.
Sun still coming;
Short-sleeve cool;
Birdsong peals;
Buildings ring.
I know there are many people who make long, sometimes arduous, journeys so they can visit some "thinny," a place where others have claimed an encounter with God. For me, though, I think there is great value in waiting for God to make the arrangements. I prefer to let God choose the place of encounter ... and the nature of the experience.
There is no stone to mark that spot of urban birdsong. It was transient, an unexpected moment in an unexpected place. All that remains are my memory of the experience ... and the poem.
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A different version of this reflection appeared in August 2014 as My Thin Place.
PHOTO by Steve Orr: Fountain Place, Dallas, Texas
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READINGS FOR THE COMING WEEK
Proper 13 (18) (August 3, 2014)
https://lectionary.library.vanderbilt.edu//texts.php?id=153
Genesis 32:22-31
Psalm 17:1-7, 15
Isaiah 55:1-5
Psalm 145:8-9, 14-21
Romans 9:1-5
Matthew 14:13-21
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I wish I was writing to announce we could meet for DaySpring’s Lectionary Breakfast. But, no. Let’s keep gathering in Spirit, reading the scriptures, and praying for one another until we can do so in person.
Blessings,
Steve
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