First Mondays as sacred space

First Mondays is a gathering held on the first Monday of every month at the home of a dear couple that fill the role of spiritual father and mother to the community I’m a part of at CNU. At First Mondays, students gather together to worship corporately and receive a message given by our hosts. It has grown significantly over the years and now students fill not only the living room, but spill out into the surrounding areas, the stairs, the kitchen, and the hallway. Worshipping the King beside so many of my friends and peers is one of the most powerful things I’ve experienced.

This past First Monday, as we were worshiping, I was unexpectedly struck by my sudden awareness that I felt as though I was standing on holy ground. I began to consider what it was that made this place sacred, and first supposed that it was the corporate worship of the event itself that consecrated and re-consecrated that space. I wouldn’t say that my initial thought was incorrect, as I do believe that spaces are consecrated through the act of worship. Upon deeper reflection, however, I realized that each time I have visited this couple’s home, even for other events or visits, it has always seemed sacred, though I didn’t have language for it then. As I continued to consider what it might be that made this place holy ground I thought of how before each gathering one of our hosts prays and invites Jesus; welcoming the presence of the Lord into their home, giving Him freedom to work and move as He wills among those gathered. I know, however, that this act of inviting the Lord into their home isn’t one that only happens once a month at First Mondays. Rather, inviting Jesus into their home and lives is an ongoing prayer of theirs. I concluded that it is this simple prayer that consecrates that space as sacred, as the Lord consistently takes them up on their invitation time and time again, without fail.

This conclusion urges me to likewise be constant in inviting Jesus into the space I occupy and the life I lead, giving Him freedom to work and move in and through me as He pleases. I believe that Jesus accepts such invitations and when this prayer becomes the heart-cry of a life the presence of the Holy Spirit, and consequently sacred space, follows the one who prays it wherever they may go, whether it’s a living room, a backyard, a campus, or a jail cell.