Another story that is totally fascinating to me is the account in Matthew, Mark and Luke of the tearing of the temple curtain. Once again, however, none of the writers goes overboard with their narrative of the incident. Notice, Matt 27:51 At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook and the rocks split. Mark 15:38 The curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. Luke 23:44-45 It was now about the sixth hour, and darkness came over the whole land until the ninth hour, for the sun stopped shining. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two. That is it! One of the biggest events of the whole week and that's all they write. The tremendous symbolism of the curtain tearing is that it gave all of us access to the Holy of Holies. In other words, Jesus really did redeem us, individually and personally, never again would we need a human to go before God for us. What a tremendous change.
We know from the original organizational system of caring for the temple, the Levites or priests had regular rotations and specific duties. They were assigned these duties by clans and in some cases, the special talents and requirements of the job were taught and handed down from generation to generation. I think that on this day, all of the priests wanted to be where the action was. They wanted to see Jesus carry his cross on the Via Dolorosa, they wanted to be at Golgatha to see the nails pounded into his wrists and feet, and they wanted to see what happened as he hung on the cross. I think that they chose the youngest priest with no senority to tend to the temple on that afternoon. This poor guy is already shaking in his boots because he is the only one there. (have you ever been alone in a big church building with all the lights out?) It got dark, the sun stopped shining, the earth shook, and rocks split. I can imagine that this rookie priest was nearly out his mind with fear. And then it happened...he heard an awful tearing sound. He looked into the Holy Place and almost had a heart attack. He clapped his hands over his face and covered his eyes as quickly as he possibly could. For a second he was looking into the Holy of Holies and staring at the Ark of the Covenant. He knew that meant instant death. After a few moments, he realizes he's not dead, he slowly looks through his fingers and, yes, it is the Ark of the Covenant and the huge, thick curtain is now in two parts, each part pushed to the outside walls of the temple. He slowly walks to where the curtain hung. He reaches out, and then quickly pulls his hand back. He reaches out again, and pulls it back. Then he puts in his whole arm, then a leg, and finally he steps into the Holy of Holies. I believe that right then the Holy Spirit came down and started a one man revival right on the spot. I can imagine the rookie priest dancing aroung the Ark, praising God and shouting at the top of his lungs. He was in the manifest presence of God, alive, more alive than he had ever been. So what if he had to stay at the temple and miss all the action. His life would never be the same again.
I pray that as we celebrate Maunday Thursday, Tenebrae and Good Friday services, that God's manifest presence will be real for each one of us. Oh Lord, even if we need to be rookies again, help us know You and the reality of Your sacrifice for us.
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