Word to the Wise
Thursday, August 3, 2017 - Thursday in the 17th Week in Ordinary Time
[Exod 40:16-21, 34-38 and Matt 13:47-53]In the daytime the cloud of the Lord was seen over the Dwelling; whereas at night, fire was seen in the cloud by the whole house of Israel in all stages of their journey. [Exodus]
The "Dwelling" in the first scripture for today was basically a portable temple. Moses and the Israelites carried their worship space with them for a long time. As the passage indicates, it could be an elaborate job to set up the whole thing and take it down. But there are some very important elements here for our consideration.
The first is that God "dwelt" with the people on their journey in the form of the "cloud" which represented the "glory" of God (the "shekinah"). This cloud would occupy the inner sanctum of the "Dwelling." The Israelites saw themselves as guided by God on their journey. This was a nomadic faith and later developments in the "promised land" would reshape it considerably.
A second point to consider is the concept of "sacred space." We are more familiar with this, perhaps, because of the way in which our own "temples" are shaped. It is true that more traditional architecture might have been better at displaying this, especially in the great medieval cathedrals, or even in the strict rules I grew up with that limited access to the "sanctuary" (the space beyond the altar rail where the altar and tabernacle were located). Still, one can find or create a kind of sacred space in one's own room or home. It is the space where we encounter God, whether in front of a tabernacle containing the consecrated host or in the tabernacle of our bodies in prayer. Our more modern expression is "Real Presence."
Do we believe that God "dwells" in our midst? Are we guided by God's presence? Is there a special "space" where we recognize this presence more fully? AMEN
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