A few years ago in 2019, the fire that seriously damaged Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris was quite shocking. Many people expressed profound grief and sadness over the damage to this 850-year-old religious icon and sacred space. People watched in total disbelief as the roof and famous spire crumple to the ground. This invaluable piece of history was gone in an instant, but the loss inspired many people to gather in the streets to sing hymns and offer prayers to God. Their reaction demonstrates perhaps in a unique way a point about sacred spaces that scripture makes plain. Sacred spaces are fundamentally more than designated physical locations. A sacred space is first and foremost a matter of the heart.
A good example is the story in the Book of Exodus about Moses encountering the burning bush on Mt. Horeb. Moses approaches the bush out of curiosity, but God stops him and says, “Do not come near! Remove your sandals from your feet, for the place where you stand is holy ground” (Ex 3:3-6). Only after Moses complies does God identify himself and reveal his intentions. This story shows that any space where we encounter God is sacred by virtue of God’s very presence, and thus calls for the right spiritual focus. This story also shows that God first looks for a right heart in his interactions with his children, and a heart is one in sync with the values of God (Jl 2:13).
This emphasis on the connection between a right heart and the values of God is exactly how Isaiah begins to discuss the meaning of God’s “house of prayer” in the first reading for today. Isaiah begins his discussion by calling attention to the spiritual cornerstone in God’s house of prayer when he says on behalf of the Lord, “Observe what is right, do what is just” (Is 56:1). In other words, God’s house of prayer begins with the right spiritual focus in life, a focus on the values of God.
Isaiah goes on to say that, “All foreigners (that is, not just the Israelites) who join themselves to the Lord (in other words, all those with the right spiritual focus) will “keep the sabbath free from profanation and hold to my covenant, them I will bring to my holy mountain and make joyful in my house of prayer…for my house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples” (Is 56:1). This is just another way of saying that any space where one encounters God with a right heart is sacred space, and that space constitutes a house of prayer deserving of respect. Jesus put it more succinctly when he said “where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them” (Mt 18:20).
The prophet Jeremiah gives voice to the need for a right heart when encountering God by warning the Israelites to reform their ways so that God may dwell with them where they are (Jer 7:2-3). Jeremiah goes on to specify what having a right heart means—one that is humble, always treats others with justice, protects the freedom and dignity of aliens, shows genuine care and concern for vulnerable persons, especially widows and orphans, and refuses to be deceived by false gods (Jer 7:3-6). These are the values of God meant to guide our lives and our relationship with him and with others. Deliberately adopting these values demonstrates our love and respect for God, and allows for genuine love of others.
Jesus affirms this way of life when he says to the Samaritan woman at the well, “Believe me, woman, the hour is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem…the hour is coming, and is now here, when true worshipers will worship the Father in Spirit and truth; and indeed, the Father seeks such people to worship him. God is Spirit, and those who worship him must worship in Spirit and truth” (Jn 4:21-23). In this way, Jesus shows that God’s house of prayer is more than a dedicated physical space; a true house of prayer is a matter of the heart formed by faith and trust in God.
In fact, the idea of placing our faith and trust in God as the first step in authentic worship is the whole point of the gospel story about the Canaanite woman. She comes to Jesus out of desperation and begs him to heal her daughter. Undeterred by the disciples who want Jesus to send her away, the woman comes to Jesus with a humble heart filled with faith and trust. Jesus eventually does what the woman requests, but not before he puts her faith to the test with a dilemma to resolve.
Jesus begins the dilemma with the claim that his mission is only to the lost sheep of Israel. This initial response to the woman implies that she is a foreigner, a Canaanite, not an Israelite, and therefore outside his mission. She hears and understands his issue, but persists in her plea for help, only to have Jesus further characterize fulfilling her request in terms of throwing the bread of children to dogs. Notice that Jesus does not send her away, nor does he say that he will not do as she asks. Rather, he simply characterizes the nature of his possible assistance, and then he waits. He waits to see how she will respond, because how she responds will be the measure of her faith and trust in God.
The woman responds without hesitation and says that even dogs eat scraps from the table. Her comment boldly suggests that fulfilling her request would require no more of Jesus than giving her scraps from the spiritual feast meant for the Israelites. Her response virtually overwhelms Jesus. He acknowledges her response with deep emotion: “O woman, great is your faith! Let it be done for you as you wish.” Jesus embraces the way she unravels the dilemma because she comes to Jesus with humility, faith, and trust. She comes to him with the right spiritual focus to make herself a part of his mission. Her persistence reveals that she knows what a house of prayer truly is—an encounter with God born of faith and trust.
In this interaction with the Canaanite woman, Jesus provides a deeper understanding not only of God’s love and mercy, but also a better understanding of what it means to encounter God with a right heart. Jesus aims to show that God’s house of prayer is not exclusive to the Hebrews or to anyone else. Rather, God’s house of prayer is sacred space open and available to all those who place their faith and trust in Him (1Pt 5:7).
The inevitable conclusion to all of this is that sacred space is more than a designated physical space where the followers of Jesus gather in community for prayer and worship. Sacred space is fundamentally a mutual experience between God and a person with a right heart. A right heart is one formed by faith and trust in God, and thus remains in sync with the values of God out of respect for his presence in ourselves and in others. Such respect is foundational to genuine love for God and his children, and the necessary condition for authentic worship of God in Spirit and truth. Encountering God on these terms in any space constitutes a genuine “house of prayer.”
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