Wendell Berry said, “There are no unsacred places; there are only sacred places and desecrated places.”

I’m working through this, and my thoughts wash back and forth… as they should. Spending time with someone’s statement, masticating it, that’s how you come to be wise. I would be a fool to discount his statement off-hand, and a fool to accept it without consideration. Mr. Berry has given us much wisdom over the years, but he is not God. I must think, I must use my senses. What do I know?

Sacred is usually used in the context of holiness, and holy things are set apart for God. This is the definition of “holy”. I think about homes, and good homes are sacred. Are they set apart for God? I was set to argue that they are not – but then what is God’s purpose in a home? If that purpose is met, is that home not at least somewhat holy? (I shall assume that everyone reading this knows the difference between a house and a home).

In theory, I walk with Mr. Berry. And then I look around. There’s the park on top of the hill nearby. All during the day, it is filled with children, dogs, frolic. This is a sacred place, a place well fit for purpose. When dusk approaches you notice a change – and after dark, the very same park is known to be dangerous. Certainly a sacred place can be dangerous, and since it is illegal to be in the park after dark (which is a misuse of its purpose), perhaps ? But I am loath to attribute murder as the consequence of a poorly timed visit. Perhaps I should not be, perhaps the blessing is only for the day. I would feel differently, were the park in a fairy tale, were the posted hours a wisdom given instead of painted on a metal sign.

What of roads? Most roads are desecrations, but those same roads carry ambulances that save life. Can a desecrated place carry blessing? Oh. But our Lord walked in the desert, a place of devils – and He was holy. So unholy places can bear the weight of holy travel. Another objection discarded.

Holiness in objects is a one and done thing, and it’s easy to profane (reduce to ordinary or worse) a holy object. But we speak of places, not things… can one reduce-to-normalcy a place without desecrating it? I don’t know. It seems to me that a cup of pure water is a variety of sacred, but it is not the same as a chalice of wine. And I return my thoughts to objects rather than places. Odd, how most of that which we call holy are objects. In Christianity, we avoid talk about holy hills (other than Gethsemane). But if we speak of a hill, pure as a cup of water, quiet on a moonlit night… that would not be desecrated, would it? Ah – perhaps it would only be desecrated if we misused it by worshipping anything but our Lord, and forgetting who is created and who Creator.

I have found belly wisdom, not head knowledge. I’m walking this thought down, and hozho (a Navajo word more-or-less meaning peace, balance & harmony) comes to my hand. A sacred place is hozho. It is fit for purpose, and if it is to remain sacred, it must be used for the purposes for which it was given. A road can (rarely) be sacred, but the potholed road left unrepaired is desecrated.

If God has given us this world, then it was all sacred, once. Has it all been desecrated? Did the Fall take it all? Many would say this is so. I don’t know if I am one who would.

My head doesn’t have an answer, my head wants chapter and verse and prooftexts. My heart is willing to look and see what the Lord might show.

And so a sentence starts me on a path to grow in wisdom, not just knowledge.

So – thank you, Mr. Berry. You have given me new eyes to see that which surrounds me.