Holy Smokes BBQ and Sacred Steps
In a week or so the FLC Leadership Team (Council) will be hosting a Holy Smokes BBQ and Sacred Steps event. We all understand what a BBQ is! But many of you may not have much familiarity with what “sacred steps” is all about…
In the Fellowship Hall Susan Carlson of “Labyrinth Lives” will be setting up a large canvas mat that has a labyrinth path laid out on it. She has arranged for an Irish harpist, and a pianist to provide live contemplative music while people journey through the labyrinth.
A labyrinth is a symbolic representation of our journey with and to God. The earliest example of a Christian labyrinth dates back to the 300’s in Algeria. By the Middle Ages labyrinths were often found laid out on the spacious floors of cathedral churches—they had become a kind of replacement for pilgrimage trips to far off places—something which was out of reach for most commoners. But the underlying idea was the same as the original idea: it was a tactile way to represent our spiritual walk with God. A path whose destination is assured, even if it has many twists and turns.
A labyrinth shouldn’t be confused with a maze—a maze is designed with false turns, and deceptive paths which end up leading nowhere. A maze is meant to deceive, trick, and confuse the walker. That’s not the object of a labyrinth.
At first glance a maze and a labyrinth may look like the same thing. But they’re quite different. There are no tricks or dead ends in a labyrinth—just one continuous path, always leading to the center (God). There are plenty of twists and turns, of course, but no dead ends and no bad choices. There is simply one continuous path leading to the center. The path is not a direct, straight line, but rather includes twists and turns, and long arcs moving around the center. But in the end it is just one path that leads to a known destination—the center which represents God.
A labyrinth is intended to take a bit of time—how much depends on the walker’s needs and patience. This time is often devoted to contemplating a single thought or idea, or perhaps a few ideas which might change at various stages ¼ or a ⅓ of the way through. For example one might decide to divide a walk into 3 stages and ponder the first 3 “Fruits of the Spirit”: love for the first ⅓, joy for the second, and finish with peace.
Often several people will journey at the same time (though not exactly together). They may all be walking the same path, with the same theme(s) in mind, but will be pondering independently of one another. For this reason if the person ahead of you is traveling “too slowly” for you, it is acceptable to politely “pass” them. It is not a race, nor is the labyrinth meant to “trap” you and force you to ponder at someone else’s speed.
I hope many of you will give the labyrinth walk (sacred steps) a try. Then enjoy the BBQ!
Peace,
Pastor Derek
