When was the last time that you paid attention to the ground beneath your feet? Took your shoes and socks off and let your feet touch the earth and your toes wiggle in the dirt or grass or sand? Felt the connection to earth and let a sense of awe, wonder, and interconnection to life and the holy flow through you?
Often we forget what that feels like—the temperature, the texture, the freedom, the delight, and the vulnerability. We place so many barriers between our feet and the ground—socks, shoes, floors, foundations. Even as I write this, I’m separated from the ground by multiple layers of materials.
As Moses stood before the burning bush, God said, take off your sandals for you are standing on holy ground. The ground itself along with the bush became a vessel for God’s presence. For Moses to take his sandals off was an act of openness, respect, and vulnerability before God. As he stopped and took his sandals off, his feet sinking into the hot dessert sand, he opened himself to being full present to God and the gift of that moment.
Our lives are often like this. There are so many layers of life that come between us and God, layers that serve a purpose but that prevent and protect us from experiencing God’s presence fully in any given moment: work, family, friends, travel, service, entertainment, the list goes on. In the midst of the activities of life, taking a moment to remove the layers between our feet and the ground, to pause and to feel the earth beneath our feet, to pay attention to the temperature and the texture, helps connect us to the gift of this moment, and opens us up to God’s presence and experiencing the gift of God’s love and creation in a holy way.
This very simple yet deeply spiritual practice helps us to live a grounded life, one in which we are connected more closely to our Creator, the one we describe as the ‘Ground of our being.’
In worship this week, as we reflect on the theme of Holy Ground, our hands-on practice for creation care in the welcome center will be led by congregation members who will share resources about composting and food rescue. In both of these practices, food items and other natural items that would be thrown in the trash and sent to the dump are reclaimed for life. Compost becomes dirt that has the capacity to grow the plants that provide oxygen and food for us and the animals. Food rescue reduces food waste and feeds those who would have gone to bed hungry. These are wonderful ways that we can work with God and practice resurrection each day.
I look forward to practicing resurrection with you!
Pastor Suzanne