Sometimes we stand at the edge of the world. I believe everyone has this experience now and then. You are going along doing your every day, normal, run of the mill tasks and something happens that has you standing at a precipice that takes your breath away. Sometimes it is an illness or a loss. Other times it is the act of falling in love with a person or a job or the prospect of a newness you had not dreamed of until it confronts you face to face.

Today those of us on a journey to Ireland stood at the edge of the world. Looking out over the Cliffs of Moher on a bright and beautiful day certainly took my breath away. Looking at these limestone formations in all their dramatic splendor sent a chill of danger and awe throughout my body. It is difficult to look at such a sight of Creation and not imagine the many lives that have been lost over the centuries on these very stones. It is equally difficult to imagine the all the others, just like me, who have stood at the altar of such a miraculous and awe inspiring sight.

Around us were people from all around the world. I listened to German, Polish, Italian and various accents of English being spoken, all trying to find the words for their experience of such a place. Watching people line up for a photo with these accordion pleated walls as the backdrop made me smile. Something about being human also means saying: “I was here. I saw this amazing sight!”

Just a few miles down the road from the cliffs is an area of Ireland known as the Burren. This landscape of barren rock formations pushing through earth and creating a backdrop of solid, gray multi-layered truly resonated with some of our group. People walked with great care and some trepidation over this rocky ground that tilted and gave way without notice. It was as if the cliffs we had just seen went underground and pushed their way upward to create a new and different place altogether.

What to make of these two varied slices of the same small island? There is of course the explanations of glaciers and shifting plates, all things I have a healthy, sixth grade science understanding and respect of. But as one who is looking for the Divine in this journey I saw the majesty of a Creator who can tell a whopper of a big story. I also saw the fragility of stone that has over time become worn and in need of protection. Looking at the barrenness of the moonscape called the Burren I saw a Sacred strength that digs in and will not let go while all the time opening itself to tiny plants that find ways to grow in the most unlikely of places. Even in this slice of earth that makes you squint to see the Life Force, there it is waiting to be discovered. If you take the time to stand still and be present to the miracle which is as near as your beating heart.

We began our worship together standing in the presence of these ancient stone formations by saying the more than 3000 year old words of the psalmist: The voice of God sounds in the seas, echoing over the oceans. The powerful voice of God is heard in all its splendor and majesty.

And so it is.