I went to Jordan, more than ten years ago now, to explore biblical and monastic wilderness as part of a pilgrimage group. One evening, the 15 of us were watching the sun go down, perched on a low cliff with a view of red rock formations, desert sands, and a simulated Bedouin camp where we would spend the night (and where I would get bitten by a feral cat at dinner, but that’s another story).
One of our leaders had gathered us for evening devotions and, after a prayer and with a lingering, purple tone in his voice, asked us the question: What is sacred ground? I’m not sure if our group of seasoned clergy and other church folks were tired and hungry or had reason to be a little fed up with this leader or just wanted to be asked a different question. But What is sacred ground? somehow made everyone very cranky. Half a dozen voices took turns piping up to explain that there is no such thing as sacred ground, that all ground is sacred, that we can encounter God anywhere, that worldwide ecological disaster meant we could not consider some ground holy and other ground profane.
I think our leader was a bit bewildered by this fierce response to his lyrical question. Later, I found myself wondering, if there is no such thing as sacred ground, what are we all doing on this pilgrimage?
