How This Protestant Came to Love the Sanctuary Lamp

As I mentioned in my first article, I love praying in churches. There is something about austere sanctuaries that draws me closer to God and helps me to focus my thoughts. In many churches, there is a small, often red candle that quietly burns to the left side of the platform. In Roman Catholic and Anglian churches, this candle is lit when there is reserved sacrament in the tabernacle. An ornate box displayed in a prominent place that holds communion wine and bread that has been consecrated during the Mass. This lamp is a reminder that God is present, body soul and Divinity, in the Eucharist (a belief known as the “real presence”). When the lamp is burning, God is present in a special way.

Methodist and Lutheran churches, though not holding to the same theology concerning prepared sacrament as Anglicans and Roman Catholics, will often have a sanctuary lamp continually burning in their sanctuaries, also symbolizing the presence of God in the church.

Where is My Lord?

We talk a lot about the presence of Jesus in Christian circles. Jesus is present in our hearts, in our worship, in the world, and in the Eucharist. However, Jesus is also absent. We live between the already and the not yet. We anxiously await when Jesus “will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead.” I have always struggled with Jesus’ presence to me personally. Sure, God is omnipresent but is He really present to me? Does He care to hear my prayers? Sometimes, God can seem desperately absent. Like a modern day Magdalene, though believing in the resurrection and ascension, my heart cries, “They have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid him.”

Be Still and Know

The sanctuary lamp answers this question for me. Where is my Lord? He is here. Some days He seems to blaze, as visible to me as the burning pillar was to the Israelites in the desert. Most days, however, He flickers. Quietly, He invites me to seek His face, not in a burning bush, but in a still, small voice. Especially when I am praying in a church, the sanctuary lamp is a comfort to me. When I anxiously question whether or not God cares about my prayers, I can look to the lamp, quietly flickering. Its quiet, serene presence calms my anxieties and insecurities. It invites me to remember that God is present, that reverence and stillness are in order. It flickers back and forth, demanding no eloquent words or false perfection, just my presence before His presence. The sanctuary lamp invites me to be myself in the presence of my God and know that He will not cast me out of His presence because I am a sinner. On the contrary, He invites me as the physician that He might heal my wounds. He invites me as a fire that He might refine my life.

The Lord is Here

The fire in the sanctuary lamp is not a matter of my opinion or perception. Often, it’s hard to see the flame, obscured by the metal frame holding the candle or so close to the bottom that it barely peeks above the lip. God’s presence is not a matter of my opinion or perception but some days He’s hard to see. Some days He feels far away, either because of sin or distraction or something else. The physical presence of the sanctuary lamp reminds me of the reality of God’s presence, especially when He feels far away.

God is here, joyfully awaiting the prayers of His people. You and I are invited before His throne, to give our laments and thanksgivings and requests or just to sit before our Lord. The quiet vigil or the sanctuary lamp reminds me to bring myself before the presence of my God without pretense and know that He is there to listen, even when he feels distant. And that’s why this Protestant came to love the sanctuary lamp.

What Now?

So, how do you incorporate a sanctuary lamp into your own faith walk? Take some time to pray in a church with a sanctuary lamp. When you worry that your prayers are not enough or that God isn’t present to you personally, gaze at the flame and know that He is there. You might read passages about the burning bush (Exodus 3) or the pillar of fire (Exodus 13) and imaginatively place yourself in the story. What might it be like to see God’s presence so dramatically manifested in fire?

In your personal worship, you might light a candle while you pray. When your mind wanders or you don’t know what to pray, use its light to focus your thoughts and prayers. Remember that God is with you.  

Peace be with you,

James