Have you ever thought or dreamed of being invited by the President of the United States to visit the White House? But you and I know it is most likely not going to happen, unless the President takes the initiative and commands that all barriers be dropped. Do not hold your breath though. Such an invitation is most likely not going to arrive.
But when it comes to God and His Kingdom, He has already invited us and He has already removed all barriers. The door to His presence is now wide open for us to enter.
But how could this be? If we could not get into the White House to see the President, how can we be granted an audience with God – what happened?
To answer the question, this is how St. Paul puts it: “So, brothers and sisters, we are completely free to enter the most Holy Place without fear because of the Blood of Christ. We can now enter through a new and living way that Jesus opened for us. It leads through the curtain – Christ’s Body” (Hb 10:19-20). You see, when Christ died on the Cross, the curtain which separated us from the Father was torn.
The curtain is the Body of Christ. What happened to the flesh of Christ happened to the curtain. The flesh of Christ was shredded by whips and thorns, and His Body was torn down by the weight of the Cross and by the point of the nails.
The curtain - the veil of the Temple - which hung before the Holy of Holies was ripped in two when Christ died. The Holy of Holies was a part of the Temple whereby no one could enter. Jewish worshipers could only enter the court. The high priest could only enter the Holy of Holies once a year. Why? Because the Shekinah Glory – the Glory of God – lived there.
If you were told that you could enter the Oval Office of the White House, you would likely shake your head and chuckle. Multiply your disbelief a thousand times and you’ll have an idea of how a Jew felt if told that he could enter the Holy of Holies. No one, but the high priest could enter the Holy of Holies. To do so, means instant death. Two of Aaron’s sons died when they entered the Holy of Holies to offer sacrifice to God. (see Lev. 16: 1-2).
The curtain implicitly declared in no uncertain terms: “This far, and no further”, because God is Holy, separate from us and unapproachable. God told Moses that no one can see God and live. (Ex 33:20) God is perfectly Holy and we are sinners. Holiness and sin cannot be mixed.
Through the torn Body of Christ, however, we are now welcomed to enter into God’s presence anytime, any day. The barrier of sin which separated us from God has been removed.
Somehow, we sometimes have the tendency to allow our guilty conscience to become a curtain that separates us from God’s love. We allow our sins to keep us away from God. When we sin God is not angry with us. God understands our frailty. God has already dealt with our sins on the Cross.
When we sin, we need only to be ready to go to Christ’s feet in the Sacrament of Reconciliation to ask for God’s forgiveness.
With a contrite heart, we can now go to God without fear, because Christ’s Blood has been spilt and the curtain of sin was split.
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