The Torn Curtain, March 22, 2015

The Torn Curtain

Exodus 26:31-35, Matthew 27:45-54

Grace Presbyterian Church

March 22, 2015

Rev. Dr. Richard E. Miller

 

Marathon  His name was Pheidippides. The date was 490 B.C. The event was the great battle between Greece and the invading army of Persia. The place was Marathon, a town a little over 26 miles from Athens. Although severely outnumbered, Greece defeated Persia. Immediately, Pheidippides was dispatched to take the good news back to Athens as fast as he could. And so he starting running. And he continued running. He never stopped until he reached Athens. He burst in to the Athenian Assembly and exclaimed, “We Won!”  He then collapsed and died. However, his great run is memorialized today every time a Marathon race takes place.

Communication Today  Now let’s fast-forward to 1960 and the Andy Griffith show. Andy wants to call Aunt Bea. He picks up the phone and says, “Sarah, would you ring Aunt Bea for me?” And Sarah says, “Well, hello, Andy. I just saw Aunt Bea go into the butcher shop. I’ll ring her there.”

We’ve come a long way since Pheidippides in 490 b.c. Or since the days of Andy, Barney and Aunt Bea. Whereas we used to get in touch with people primarily by telephone, telegraph, or letters, today we carry our cell phones so that people can reach us no matter where we might be. We email, text, twitter and post pictures and information on facebook. Classes are offered on how to use the numerous forms of social media.

Mennonite Minister  I appreciate emails for many reasons. They keep me in constant contact with my classmates and cousins. In 2001, I was in Amsterdam where I had supper with Ed Van Straten, a Mennonite minister. As we visited, we discovered that we were both born on the same year, month and day. We both had beards, wore glasses and had two children, a son and a daughter.

So every year, we email each other at Christmas and on our common birthday. Instantly, our greetings are sent thousands of miles to one another. So it is really wonderful how we can connect with each other so quickly. And of course, many of us connect with friends every day.

Connecting with God  But what about connecting with God? As far as I know, God doesn’t have e-mail, a blog or a web site. Maybe God’s old-fashioned and doesn’t want to fool with these newfangled things. Be that as it may, people have been trying to find ways to connect with God from the beginning of time. And most of the time, prayer was the answer. But sometimes they felt unworthy to talk with God. In that case, they’d ask the most spiritual persons they could find to speak to God on their behalf - the priests. They assumed that God would be more willing to answer prayers of priests than the prayers of ordinary persons. And so a system evolved by which priests became the intermediaries between God and the people.

Background of Curtain in Holy of Holies  In the Jewish Tabernacle, there was an inner sanctuary called the Holy Place where only priests could enter. Beyond that was another room called the Holy of Holies. It was the most sacred room in the Temple where only the High priest could enter, and then only once a year on Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement. The Holy of Holies was a room twenty cubits by twenty cubits by twenty cubits, or about thirty by thirty by thirty feet [1 Kings 6:16, 20]. This was considered the place where God dwelt. In this room were kept the Ark of the Covenant and the Ten Commandments. A wall separated the Holy of Holies from the rest of the tabernacle. In the wall was an entrance covered by a curtain or veil. In our morning scripture from Exodus we read a description of the entrance curtain of the Holy of Holies. “You shall make a curtain of blue, purple, and crimson yarns, and of fine twisted linen; it shall be made with cherubim skillfully worked into it. You shall hang it on four pillars of acacia overlaid with gold, which have hooks of gold and rest on four bases of silver. You shall hang the curtain under the clasps, and bring the ark of the covenant inside, within the curtain; and the curtain shall separate for you the holy place from the most holy.”  [Exodus 26:31-33 NRSV]

Curtain a Barrier  Thus the curtain or veil was a symbolic barrier preventing the people to speak or communicate directly with God. If they wanted to give thanks to God, they presented a grain offering through the priests. If they wanted God to express their love and devotion for God, they gave a burnt offering. If they wanted God to forgive their sins, they had to make a sin offering to God through the priests. The priests acted as intermediaries between God and his people.

In spite of the social media options available to us today, barriers to communication still exist. Some pastors feel that the pulpit is a physical barrier between them and the congregation. Solution? They walk up and down the aisle while preaching. I tried that once but it wasn’t for me. It just didn’t feel right. I felt it was too distracting to the congregation. Besides, I found that I couldn’t preach and walk at the same time.

The Curtain was Torn  But the curtain in the Temple did serve as a barrier preventing the ordinary person from communicating with God. But then Calvary took place. This singular event changed all that and directly impacts on our lives and worship today. When Jesus died, the Gospel of Mark states,”With a loud cry, Jesus breathed his last. The curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom.” [15:37-38] The rending of the curtain symbolically opened up the way for all people to have direct access to God. A priest to speak to God on their behalf was no longer needed. They could thank God, seek his forgiveness, and ask for strength and help directly.

Our morning scripture from Hebrews puts it this way, “Since we have confidence to enter the sanctuary by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain (that is, through his flesh), and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us approach with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.” The curtain that closed off the entrance to the Holy of Holies and which prevented people from communicating with God has been removed. It is now replaced by an Open Door Policy by Christ’s sacrifice which once and for all atoned for all the sins of the world.

Priesthood of all Believers As Presbyterians, we affirm the belief that each of us can go directly to God in prayer and that God will hear us. This belief is part of what we call the Priesthood of All believers. This doctrine arose out of the Reformation and dismissed the medieval Christian belief that Christians were divided into two classes: "spiritual" and "temporal" or non-spiritual.

Luther put forward the doctrine that all baptized Christians are "priests" and "spiritual" in the sight of God. In fact, we are all consecrated priests through baptism. Peter writes: "You are a chosen race, a royal priesthood and a priestly kingdom," [1 Peter 2:9]. John echoes this sentiment by saying, "Through your blood you have made us into priests and kings."[Revelation 5:10] Thus, all of us are priests. Being priests enable us to do the following.

Direct Access to God  One, we can go directly to God in prayer. We don’t have to ask Andy Griffith’s Sarah to connect us with God. We can dial direct instead of going through a priestly operator. This is why we Presbyterians do not have a confessional booth in which to confess our sins to a priest. And this is why we do not have an altar upon which to offer sacrifices to God. Instead, we have a communion table where we celebrate the sacrifice that Christ made for our sins.

Priests to and for one another  Next, we are priests to and for one another. This is why we do not elevate the clergy over the layperson. Elders, Deacons and Ministers all take the same ordination vows. At presbytery meetings, an equal number of elders and ministers are required. That having been said, there are still many people who feel that a prayer by their minister is heard more readily by God than their own prayers. They feel that their pastor has an inside track to God and can make things happen that an ordinary layperson can’t. Of course this isn’t true. In fact, I would say that if there is a difference in the effectiveness of prayers, little children’s prayers are the best of all!

 

 

Our priestly functions include praying for those in need, praying for our nation, and in telling others about the good news of Christ. I firmly believe that when we hold the hand of the bereaved, we are performing a priestly function. When we forgive someone of their sins, we are performing a priestly function. When we pray with and for others, we are carrying out the function of the priest.

Nursing Home  I remember a lady in one of my former congregations who was in a nursing home. She was so weak, she could not lift her hands to take the bread or the cup of communion, so my elder gently placed the bread in her mouth and raised the cup to her lips. The elder was carrying out a priestly function.

Final Thoughts  The fact that we can pray directly to God and receive forgiveness, is a gift from God which came to us because the curtain of the Holy of Holies was torn in two at the moment of Christ’s death. Jesus put it this way, “I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved.” [John 10:9] The door of access to God is now wide open to anyone. So rejoice in your ability to go directly to God in prayer. And look for opportunities to become priests to one another. Amen.

Exodus 26: 31-36 NRSV

You shall make a curtain of blue, purple, and crimson yarns, and of fine twisted linen; it shall be made with cherubim skillfully worked into it. You shall hang it on four pillars of acacia overlaid with gold, which have hooks of gold and rest on four bases of silver. You shall hang the curtain under the clasps, and bring the ark of the covenant inside, within the curtain; and the curtain shall separate for you the holy place from the most holy. You shall put the mercy-seat on the ark of the covenant in the most holy place. You shall set the table outside the curtain, and the lamp stand on the south side of the tabernacle opposite the table; and you shall put the table on the north side.

Matthew 27:45-54 NRSV

From noon on, darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon. And about three o’clock Jesus cried with a loud voice, ‘Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?’ that is, ‘My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?’ When some of the bystanders heard it, they said, ‘This man is calling for Elijah.’ At once one of them ran and got a sponge, filled it with sour wine, put it on a stick, and gave it to him to drink. But the others said, ‘Wait, let us see whether Elijah will come to save him.’ Then Jesus cried again with a loud voice and breathed his last. At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. The earth shook, and the rocks were split. The tombs also were opened, and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised. After his resurrection they came out of the tombs and entered the holy city and appeared to many. Now when the centurion and those with him, who were keeping watch over Jesus, saw the earthquake and what took place, they were terrified and said, ‘Truly this man was God’s Son!’