It was just a trip to a shopping centre on New Years Day.
Anna needed potatoes, and nowhere was open. January 1st is a holiday here. Big Time. Nothing is open. And I mean, nothing. But this shopping mall we passed seemed to be open. At least the car park was full of cars. But, inside, in fact all the shops were shut. Nothing was actually open, apart from the Cinema. Yet, incredibly, the place was full of people. Families with children playing in the kid’s area. Couples strolling up and down the aisles. Young people hanging out together. Older men sitting down and reading the paper or chatting.
It was surreal.
But that’s part of life in 21st century Portugal and an indication of where
the heart of our society lies. People are searching for community, perhaps a way of dispelling the sense of loneliness or claustrophobia that comes from living in small apartments. Or maybe just a need to keep warm! Apartments in Lisbon are generally not built for cold weather and can be quite chilly in winter. And it's this world of commerce, the retail world, that often provides that sense of communit that the Church might have provided in an earlier age.
Compare these 2 photos - Colombo Shopping Centre, Lisbon and Salisbury Cathedral in England. The same high vaulted ceiling. The same structure that draws you in, that gives you a sense of space, a sense of upward aspiration, a sense of security and all encompassing strength.
So what's become of the church that was once at the heart of the community? Well, its not in the buildings and architectural forms. Those have passed on to newer forms and ideals, or else lie derelict and little used. But the real church, the people, Christ's body, still exists as a community that invites, that draws you inward and upward to God, and a community that supports and provides security and strength. We might lose our central place in terms of urban landscape, and civic architecture, but that sense of godward community should never be lost.
