Our Lady of Malibu and Our Lady of the Angels

This morning I read Rick's review of Till We Have Built Jerusalem:  Architecture, Urbaniam, and the Sacred, which appears in the March issue of First Things.  (I look forward to reading the book).  As I read, my memory brought me back to a recent trip to Pepperdine where I participated in two thought provoking conferences organized by MOJ friend, Bob Cochran.  This was only my second time in Malibu.  I tend to like traditional (and grand) church buildings and on my first trip to Malibu, I remember thinking that the Catholic Church, Our Lady of Malibu, was an unimpressive structure that really didn't signify the sacred.  This was especially surprising given the wealth in Malibu. 

Sometimes it takes a while for my eyes to adjust; I saw Our Lady of Malibu in a totally different light this time.  When one is surrounded by palaces, maybe the best way to see the grandeur of God and the scandal of the Incarnation is in simplicity, after all Jesus entered the world in a stable in Betheleham. On this recent trip, I also went to the cathedral, Our Lady of the Angels, which I was prepared to dislike because of its distinctly modern features.  Instead, I found the starkness of this structure, which lifted my gaze heavenward, to be be witness to LA's culture of glitz and glamour.  My sense, after this recent trip, is that how we construct our sacred may very well depend upon the time, place, and circumstances.