If you take the 38 bus from downtown San Francisco and get off at 26th Avenue, you can look across the street and see a Russian Orthodox church. Sitting right in the middle of a hectic urban neighborhood of shops and traffic, it is a beautiful white church with golden domes that absolutely glisten in the sunlight. Gold is the color which represents heaven. It draws your mind to thoughts of things heavenly. Beautiful icon-style paintings adorn the outside of the building. The whole appearance of the church is bright and inviting.

If you step inside, your senses are jolted by the darkened interior. There is an entry way similar to our narthex. In Russian Orthodox churches it is called an iconostasis. It separates the inside of the church from the outside world. It is intended to stop physical sight, and allow worshipers to achieve spiritual sight.

The sanctuary itself is enriched with many sacramental objects including icons which are hung on the walls. Murals cover most of the interior. In the dark sanctuary the gold paint of the icons catch the light of candles around the room. There are no pews in the church.There are a few scattered chairs for the elderly or those unable to stand.

For those of us from different faith traditions, this church seems very old and archaic. Why then can it evoke such a sense a wonder and of breathtaking holiness? We can’t even understand the language of the black robed priest. The language of worship may be Russian, but the presence of God is vibrant and alive. God himself seems to speak to us through our physical senses apart from our own comfortable worship style and even in a language we don’t understand. How can this be? Perhaps it reminds us that we are a part of the universal church and are joined with other believers across the world and across the ages. It shows us that God is not limited in how and where he speaks to his people. May he open our eyes, our hearts and even our senses to hear his voice and catch a glimpse of his holiness.