Luke 23:44-45
It was now about noon, and darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon, while the sun’s light failed; and the curtain of the temple was torn in two.
Heaven and earth itself give witness to the turn of the ages and climax of history that takes place at our Lord’s death. Poets and artists through the centuries have noted the significance of the failure of the sun to illumine this moment. Light fails, Luke notes, as if the heavens cannot bear to witness the injustice being committed.
And then there is the Temple curtain. The curtain that separates the holy of holies – the place that bears the very presence of God – from the rest of the Temple. Only the high priest could enter this most holy of places and then only once a year, on Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement. Early Christians, rooted as many of them were in Judaism, would recognize instantly the significance of the tearing of this curtain as a sign that something fundamental had changed. That God’s most holy presence could not be contained but was again on the loose. That now all people had access to God at anytime and any place.
Does Jesus’ death make this possible? Or does his death signify and usher in this new age? Theologians have debated such questions for centuries. But I am inclined, especially at this time of the year, less to strain toward understanding, and more toward simply accepting with gratitude, the mystery of the moment.
For most certainly it is the climax of history and the turning of the ages that heaven and earth witness. And now, so do we.
Prayer: Dear God, let us look with holy awe at the mystery of your love made manifest in the life, death, and resurrection of your Son. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
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