"The Practice of Waking Up to God"-- from "An Altar in the World"

Just as a reminder, today we are beginning our new study on practical ways of seeing and interacting with God in our everyday lives. This week, we are looking at the Spiritual Practice of “Waking Up to God,” or vision, as it is described in Barbara Brown Taylor’s An Altar in the World. Taylor’s idea is that we do not have to be in church to see or interact with God, as every corner of the world is a place that can be used as a meeting space with God.

Taylor references many Biblical accounts in which people (and other creatures of God’s Kingdom) had significant encounters with God, and uses these as evidence that God was in the business of interacting with God’s children long before church buildings existed. In fact, in Israel, the only “home” God had was a mobile tent, in which the presence of God moved as the people of God moved. God also met with people outside of the tent, but this tent was the place in which people seemed to have their most intense encounters with the Almighty.

Another interesting point the author raises is the question as to why we feel the need to build a house for God. “Do we build God a house so that we can choose when we go see God?,” she asks. Or, “Do we build God a house in lieu of having God stay at ours?” Ouch. I think I have some further exploration to dive in to with that question. We obviously want access to God at all times, but are we also willing to give God access to our lives in the same way?

Toward the end of the chapter, there is a passage that I feel sums up the main idea of this practice.

People encounter God under shady oak trees, on riverbanks, at the tops of mountains, an in long stretches of barren wilderness. God shows up in whirlwinds, starry skies, burning bushes, and perfect strangers. When people want to know more about God, the son of God tells them to pay attention to the lilies of the field and the birds of the air, to women kneading bread and workers lining up for their pay.

Taylor reminds us that this is indeed wonderful news, because it means we do not have to leave the world behind in order to have a special encounter with God. God chooses to meet us in this world that God created. God deemed that this creation was “very good,” and intends for us to enjoy it. As we move throughout the lives that God has granted each of us, may we be open to meeting with God in every place, not just those which have been constructed for that purpose. God is so much larger than a single dwelling place—may we remember that and use the everywhere as our altar.