On the sabbath they rested according to the commandment. But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, 
they came to the tomb, taking the spices that they had prepared. They found the stone rolled away from the 
tomb, but when they went in, they did not find the body. While they were perplexed about this, suddenly two 
men in dazzling clothes stood beside them. The women were terrified and bowed their faces to the ground, but 
the men said to them, "Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here, but has risen. 
Remember how he told you, while he was still in Galilee, that the Son of Man must be handed over to sinners, 
and be crucified, and on the third day rise again." Then they remembered his words, and returning from the
 tomb, they told all this to the eleven and to all the rest. Now it was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother 
of James, and the other women with them who told this to the apostles.  But these words seemed to them an 
idle tale, and they did not believe them. But Peter got up and ran to the tomb; stooping and looking in, he saw 
the linen cloths by themselves; then he went home, amazed at what had happened. Luke 23.56b-Luke 24.12
 
Many believe that there are "thin places" in this world where heaven and earth are separated by only the 
sheerest of veils. The fancy synonym for this kind of "thin" is "limnal." It comes from the Latin word limina 
which means threshold, the cross-over from here to there, the in-between space of transition, the empty air 
between one trapeze and another. These places are considered holy ground. If you've ever been to 
Scotland, perhaps you've visited a lovely little valley called Balquidder located in the highlands. Not so many 
centuries after our Lord walked this earth, a missionary went there and built a church, so near did heaven 
seem....
 
Because of what happened in the Upper Room, on the Mount of Olives, along the Via Dolorosa, upon Calvary, 
in the tomb where Jesus' body lay and from which He rose, I'd guess those are "thin places," despite the fact 
I've never visited them. Surely God's ear bent close to earth when Jesus spoke, and where Jesus suffered, 
died and rose.
 
I've no doubt I've been in thin places much closer to home -- across the street, as a matter of fact, within 
the past two days. You see, I believe "thin places" can be times and not just places. Not all of them can 
be plotted on a GPS; some arise unexpectedly. I knelt in a thin place on Thursday evening when I 
washed the feet of six servants of Christ in the Holy Trinity sanctuary. I touched the skin of young and 
old(er), poured water over manicured feet and tired feet, some tender and some battered. The choir 
sang the hauntingly beautiful "Ubi Caritas" all the while, and I had not doubt I had entered holy space.
 
Friday night I knelt before the rough-hewn cross, which was meaning-full. But I entered the truly thin place 
when I sat down again and saw the saints come forward. I know the burdens some of you carry, and 
imagined you laying them before the cross. That's where I laid them for you, in my prayers, as I watched. One 
little saint came forward in her beautiful dress and cape, and knelt right down on the floor rather than the 
kneeling step. I don't know what she whispered in her heart, but I am quite sure God's ear bent close to earth 
to hear her. Another little guy was so small he was unsure how to kneel; but his dad taught him. "Raise your 
children up in the way they should go." That father certainly is.  His presence and his son's made our 
sanctuary a thin place on Good Friday.
 
 
Ultimately it isn't history, physical beauty, fragrant lilies, soaring music or the most exquisitely sung "Alleluia!"s 
that make a place or a time "thin." It is the presence of the risen Christ. May He meet you both coming and 
going, this Easter day and always. 
 
Amen
 
Pastor Mary Virginia Farnham
bluiris27@msn.com