Last night, as part of my church’s Lenten observances, we walked a seven-circuit labyrinth. The one we walked is temporary—along the same design as the two built into the floor of Grace Cathedral in San Francisco, but only seven instead of eleven circuits, and marked in blue ink onto a white tarpaulin spread out over the floor.
The labyrinth experience itself was interesting—we had about 30 people walking simultaneously, so though it was nearly empty when I entered, it was quite full and we had people passing each other as I was winding my way out. (You enter and exit the labyrinth by the same path.) I enjoyed the clockwork-like, intricate dance of my fellow-travelers, both during my walk and after I left. However, that was not my favorite part.
My favorite part was the words I encountered when I got to the center. The vicar who organized borrowing this labyrinth from our Synod had left a bible open to Psalm 139 and 140 in the center. I’m not sure what text she intended to leave out, but one verse particularly spoke to me:
Psalm 139:14 - I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvelous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well.
I held that phrase, “fearfully and wonderfully made” all through my exit from the labyrinth, and looked it up while waiting for the rest of our group to finish in the KJV that I have on my PalmPilot. (What, doesn’t everyone keep a Bible in their pocket?) I later learned that not all translations have that same poetry, though this Hebrew/English Bible does. I need to learn to read Hebrew, I suppose, but in the mean time I’ll just hold on to the KJV’s poetry and relish the imagery that it grants me.
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