PENTECOST I: Two-ness

ONE OF THE INTERESTING THINGS you encounter when you visit the Holy Land is this: There are two locations for many of the familiar Bible stories. 

For example, if you’re looking for the place where Jesus was baptized, you have two options miles apart from each other on opposite sides of the Jordan River. The same is true of Jesus’ tomb. One site is located inside the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, and another can be found hundreds of yards away in a place called the Garden Tomb. Looking for the site of the Sermon on the Mount? You have two hills to choose from!

Part of the explanation for this curious state of affairs can be traced to the fourth century. Helena, the mother of the Roman Emperor Constantine, was a devout Christian (her son was not) who made a famous pilgrimage to the Holy Land in 324 AD. As she traveled around the countryside, she asked the locals about the traditions where biblical events occurred. She received sometimes conflicting answers and, to settle the matter, she arbitrarily decided which ones would be “official,” i.e., correct. That, of course, didn’t end the debate. Centuries of research since Helena have only added to the uncertainty about the location of some of scripture’s most iconic events.

So, what are Christians to think about this muddle regarding the Bible’s history and where it all happened?

DOES FAITH require certainty about such matters? Does skepticism arising from uncertainty about the exact place of Jesus’ crucifixion cast doubt on the whole business? Let’s face it, Helena was not a historian or an archaeologist; she just wanted to get her heathen son’s imperial attention! But, if our knowledge of supposedly hallowed ground is based on such questionable authority, is any of the story trustworthy? Does it undermine the credibility of the Christian faith itself?

I think not. In reality, lack of certitude about exactly where and how important historical events occurred is pretty common. Precisely where Abe Lincoln stood to deliver the Gettysburg Address is debatable, but no one doubts that he gave it. Whether or not Jesus was born or buried where Helena said he was does not change the fact that he really lived and died.

WHAT COUNTS, I believe, is our abiding interest in such things and our yearning to know and experience as much as we can about stories and events that matter to us. Such is the restlessness of our spiritual longings and desires. They drive us to connect with people, places, and events that hold clues to life itself. We are seeking not certainty, it seems, but presence: a living experience of the sacred. We yearn for personal contact with what theologian Rudolf Otto called the mysterium fascinosum, the awe-inspiring mystery of God. 

You and I join that search, this longing for the holy, when we come to church. Simply our openness to the possibility that we will find it there, and often do, resonates with Jacob’s ancient dream,  “Surely the presence of the Lord is in this place” (Genesis 28:16). Far richer than rational certainty, this is spiritual knowledge, the experience of depth. It’s the blessing of seeking and finding that which our soul most needs, the felt touch of God’s grace in the here-and-now.

THAT’S WHY I’m okay with the charming two-ness of historical sites in the Holy Land. All due respect to Helena, certainty in this and most things is over-rated. It can be rather boring, in fact, especially when it’s “official,” as if to say, “No need to keep looking! You’re there. End of story. Mystery solved!”

ln truth, of course, we know there is no end to the awe-inspiring mystery of God’s presence. Experiencing two-ness on holy ground is a gentle reminder that, in this lifetime, we’re never as quite “there” as we might think we are. But, that’s okay. The mystery itself is the gift that keeps on giving. 

— Pastor Steve