My moment to ponder from last Thursday's study group came not from our lengthy discussion about social justice issues, nor from our intense discourse as we continued to delve into the story of the Prodigal Son. It came as I listened to one of our members speak about her recent trip to Italy. As she talked about visiting museums, cathedrals, amd the duomos of Rome and the Vatican, she recalled that someone in her group asked: "Do you think that God is pleased with all this lavish show of wealth?" I was immediately transported back to 2005, my first trip to Paris. I went with an opinion...that wealth should be spent on caring for the poor rather than on ornate, ostentatious Gothic churches. I based this on a comment I remembered from deep in my childhood. My grandparents had just returned from a trip to Europe, and my grandmother exclaimed that the Vatican should be ashamed of its wealth and should be using it to help the poor Catholic people of Rome! As I sat in the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, I remembered this comment while I gasped in awe at the beauty around me. Was there value to the poor in this beautiful place? Was God pleased that money and time were spent to create this beauty? My opinion is that God absolutely is pleased when anyone creates beauty in His honor. Why else would He have blessed mankind with the ability to create? My opinion is that God is absolutely pleased that even the lowliest Parisian laborer had the opportunity to work for God's glory during the construction of places like Notre Dame and Ste. Chappelle. My opinion is that God is absolutely pleased that His church becomes common ground for all people, all sinners whether rich or poor, titled or anonymous. As I wrote in my travel journal on September 18, 2005:
"....it moved my soul. Suddenly I 'got it;' the epiphany of why these early churches were so lavish and overdone. This was the sanctuary of the poor, the one place they could come & not only see the beauty of God's creation, but also find His presence in their otherwise miserable lives of poverty, hard work, and suffering. And their alms and work helped make this glorious place. I see the Church as a buffer, a meeting place to tone down the excesses and extravagances of the wealthy and provide beauty and sanctuary for the poor. I felt moved and privileged to share this great cathedral with the countless souls, both rich and poor of Paris who have worshipped here since 1163. As the people came forward for Communion..... I thought of the thousands who have come before trodding the millenium-old tiles seeking forgiveness for transgressions common to all of God's people, rich or poor. In God's eyes---all are equal."Yes, I think God is pleased whenever people create beauty in His honor. I think He is pleased when each gives of his time or talent or money to produce that beauty. Were there excesses and extravagances in the Church? Absolutely....that's what the Reformation was all about. But in Paris in the 12th and 13th centuries, the Reformation was 300 years away; God was pleased.
