Chooses, Not Chosen

Chooses, Not Chosen

11/22/15

(Landscapes of the Sacred)

In Landscapes of the Sacred, Lane explains that a sacred place is not chosen, it chooses. Nobody can simply walk up to a particular spot and declare it "holy" or "sacred." Since a sacred place is a storied place, it is only made sacred over time due to occurrences in that particular place.

It is an ordinary place that ritually becomes extraordinary. This reminds me of the story of Abraham and Isaac. The place where he brought his son was not a particular spot that he decided he wanted to be deemed "holy." But because of the miraculous and incredible divine intervention that took place there, that place was forever known as a sacred and holy place. 

It was only because of the divine nature of the place and the stories of what happened there that it was holy.