La Sagrada Familia

Monarchy frontman

June and I have embarked on another BFF vacation, a tri-city excursion that kicked off yesterday with our arrival in Barcelona, Spain. Yesterday was full of jet lag, sleeping, eating, and then going to a late night concert to see the British band: Monarchy. Our tickets for the show were at 1am. And even though that's pretty late, we figured we could handle it. Around 11pm we walked past the venue and asked security what time we should come back to line up. This fellow said: "doors open at 1, show is at 2:30."

2:30 AM?! This was sad news indeed. Indeed. But we had already paid for tickets, and were already in that part of town, so we just waited it out. Concert was great. I was in the front row,dancing, screaming...the stuff I usually do at concerts. But it's better in Barcelona! We cabbed it home, went to sleep at 4:30, then woke up at 10:30 to rush to the International Church of Barcelona for noonday service. It was a great service; there was a guest speaker visiting from Florida, so we experienced a little taste of home.

After service,
we walked to Brunch and Cake for umm...brunch (but there was no cake, even though we looked), and were served two very delicious meals. I had eggs benedict with turkey over waffle. June had a pulled chicken "cronut" that came with a syringe. This syringe was used to inject her cronut with a life-giving liquid: hollandaise sauce.

After this we were on to our main event: La Sagrada Familia.

Let's face it--I go to a church that meets in the movie theater of a rundown mall in Arlington, VA (and I love it!), so I'm not used to a church of beauty. However, I've seen many churches: old ones, new ones, basilicas, cathedrals, etc, etc. And I think La Sagrada Familia is the most beautiful church I've ever seen! The main architect, Antoni Gaudi, had a real vision. He said it would be the church of "harmonious light." And it is. The church seems bathed in light (both natural and artificial). It seems bathed in colored light, as the light streams through all the intricate and detailed stained glass windows. It's amazing to think about how meticulously all of this was planned. It's amazing to think about man's ongoing desire to make a place that is befitting of the glory of God.

colored light

Now it came about when the king lived in his house, and the Lord had given him rest on every side from all his enemies, that the king said to Nathan the prophet, “See now, I dwell in a house of cedar, but the ark of God dwells within tent curtains.”

- 2 Samuel 7:1-2

David looked around at all his wealth and luxury and thought: "but God lives in a tent." I think it says a lot about David that this thought distressed him. I wonder what Gaudi's motivation was? Maybe he thought God should be worshiped in a place of art and beauty? Maybe he thought he would venerate the work of Christ through the Nativity facade, the Passion facade, and any other beautifully constructed facades? He may have thought that, and believe me, I AM awed.

...but...

God wasn't pressed for a building back in David's day:

‘Thus says the Lord, “Are you the one who should build Me a house to dwell in? For I have not dwelt in a house since the day I brought up the sons of Israel from Egypt, even to this day; but I have been moving about in a tent, even in a tabernacle. Wherever I have gone with all the sons of Israel, did I speak a word with one of the tribes of Israel, which I commanded to shepherd My people Israel, saying, ‘Why have you not built Me a house of cedar?’”’ 

- 2 Samuel 7:5-7

And God isn't pressed for a building now:

Do you not know that you are a temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? 

- 1 Corinthians 3:16

...you also, as living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house for a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

- 1 Peter 2:5

I found this incredibly humbling. No matter how  beautiful the architecture, no matter how magnificently the stones are cut, God has chosen living stones to build His house. And I am one of them. I look in the mirror, and I don't behold myself with the awe I deserve. This isn't vanity talking. I walked into La Sagrada Familia and I felt tingles. I was wowed. I had a good moment of prayer in the sanctuary, and I started thinking about myself as a house. I'm a house. June is a house. We are La Sagrada Familia. If anyone or anything is the church of "the Holy Family" it is those who are the adopted sons and daughters of God through the shed blood of Jesus Christ. It's not dead stones brought to life by  harmonious light and amazing architecture. But it's living stones brought to life  by the Light of the World. 

And that's what that church is great for. It's a place of light to make you reflect on the Light that dwells within you. It's a place so beautiful that it makes you stand in awe of the fact that God dwells in us...when He could have been satisfied with the splendor of the church Solomon built (See 1 Kings 4). He dwells in crazy people when He could have been satisfied with the crazy genius architecture of Gaudi. 

I think that's amazing. You might not be able to go to Barcelona to see this amazing church, but knowing who you are, and knowing where you've been...

You only have to run into your bathroom and look in the mirror to see the most amazing church in the world.