What Lies Behind The Curtain

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"Oh, that you would rend the heavens and come down, that the mountains would tremble before you! As when fire sets twigs ablaze and causes water to boil" 

~ Isaiah 64: 1-3

On this first week of Advent we ardently seek that God would come down from the heavens and offer up solutions to our problems. Oh that it were so!  

 The word "rend" means to tear.  It also means great emotional pain.  When I think of "rend" I think of the moment when Christ died on the cross and the curtain that shielded the Holiest of Holies was torn in two.  That curtain kept the arc of the covenant from the eyes of the people. The curtain symbolized the separation between God's holy presence and humanity,  With the death and resurrection Christs presence is now with us always. No priest is required to intercede for us. 

If we are looking for a God in the clouds to come down and save us we'd have to look to the burning bush talking to Moses or Abraham being stopped by an angel from sacrificing his son.  The symbolism of the rend curtain may offer some guidance on what God might do for us. 

When was it rend? 
Why then? 

If we look at the main teachings of Christ we find:

• Love: Love God and your neighbor as yourself, and love your enemies. 
• Forgiveness: forgive others who have wronged you.
• Humility: Don't be hypocritical, and don't judge others. 
• Kingdom of God: The Kingdom of god lies within as the Holy Spirit working in us. 
• Service: Serve others without expecting anything from them.
• Community: The blessed community is when we gather to discern the word of God

Interesting that the new order coincides with sacrifice at Golgotha. 

It is a sad fact, but modern life has made us lazy in spiritual matters. God is not a Facebook meme and God is not sending you a parcel from Amazon with the solution to your problems. 

Our Query in 2025 ought to be how can I prune away all the noise and begin to hear more clearly the voice of God within. 

~ Joseph Olejak