Stuck In The Temporary Tent
When we do the hard work of seeing the WHY behind all the wonderful symbolism of our Faith and the power of story to pass it on, we move from the temporary to the eternal.
I remember reading Aesop’s Fables and Mother Goose stories to my kids when they were little, and they actually would sit still while I read to them! These stories contained cultural lessons that have been passed down for generations. Humpty Dumpty, Old Mother Hubbard, The Hare and the Tortoise, The Boy Who Cried Wolf, and so many others gave me a way to tell morals and lessons in a fashion that has been used forever to pass on cultural wisdom.
So imagine my surprise when I was talking to a group of 11 to 14-year-olds, and I mentioned David and Goliath, and many of them had no idea what I was talking about. A generation has been disconnected from a communal memory through stories, and the consequences for society may mean a whole generation of ill-prepared adults for mature living. The diabolical theft of the wisdom of our wonderful Faith by those who wish to “remake” society into the secular desert of their shallow immaturity can only happen IF we refuse to preserve and champion the timeless wisdom that makes humans into civilized and whole persons. God ain’t got no grandchildren! We have to prepare every generation to make this wisdom their own!
This is why I want you to handle the scriptures every day and why I do this work. Familiarity with these stories equips you to apply wisdom to your everyday life. Today’s story is quite significant as we discover the power of the Eternal Temple. Thank God for that Temple!
Look at our lesson today in Hebrews 9:1-7:
BRETHREN, the first covenant had regulations for worship and an earthly sanctuary. For a tent was prepared, the outer one, in which were the lampstand and the table and the bread of the Presence; it is called the Holy Place. Behind the second curtain stood a tent called the Holy of Holies, having the golden altar of incense and the ark of the covenant covered on all sides with gold, which contained a golden urn holding the manna, and Aaron’s rod that budded, and the tables of the covenant; above it were the cherubim of glory overshadowing the mercy seat. Of these things we cannot now speak in detail. These preparations having thus been made, the priests go continually into the outer tent, performing their ritual duties; but into the second only the high priest goes, and he but once a year, and not without taking blood which he offers for himself and for the errors of the people.
St. Paul needs to remind these Jewish converts to Christianity that there’s no going back to the Temporary Tent Moses had set up in the Wilderness after the Jews were liberated from Egypt. The very nature of their movable worship area was meant to be temporary. Even though amazing miracles occurred in the Tabernacle, these people needed to be reminded that something more to come would mean the end of the Temporary Tent.
The regulations for worship in this “earthly sanctuary” were meant to teach the people how to relate and know God and how to relate and know each other. This was the beginning of the restoration of humanity to God’s true intentions for our creation. The Tent had symbols for light, gold fixtures, and miracle bread; all meant to teach the people that God wants them to see the beauty and know He will give them the true food they need. The rhythm of prayers, the shape of the liturgy in the Tent, and even how the priests were dressed were all meant to be signposts to deeper meanings and eternal wisdom. But the Tabernacle itself was created to come to the end of its usefulness and purpose.
We often get enamored with the trappings, get fixated on the outward rule-keeping, and think this is all there is. But that always means there will be a Generation that will not know WHY the trappings are there, and the Generation after that forgetful Generation won’t bother with the trappings at all. This is why we Orthodox must always focus on the WHY of our rituals and pass on this purposeful embrace to the next generation. Catechizing you and your family is necessary if the Orthodox Faith will be more than merely a cultural decoration of a “Temporary Tent.” We have to look behind the beauty of the liturgy, the saints, the vestments, the candles, and the incense to the Eternal Temple, which is the Church of our Lord Jesus. And YOU are that Temple, not the buildings we build but the lives we see transformed by the Eternal wisdom of the Faith, once and for all, delivered to the saints.
One of the more wonderful examples of stories we keep alive to teach deeper truths is the Feast we keep today. You may have never heard of it. The name alone is wonderful: Deposition of the Precious Robe of the Theotokos in Vlachernae! Amazing, right? This feast helps us remember a moment when two Roman Christian patricians of the Empire were staying in the home of a Jewish Christian woman. They witnessed many miracles happening and so they finally convinced this precious old woman to tell them why there were so many miracles. This precious saint of God took the men into a back room where the old saint took a small vessel out and told them this was clothing from the Theotokos. She told the men how the Theotokos had 2 virgin attendants to help her until Mary’s Dormition and the Theotokos had given them each a garment as a blessing for them. The old widow was a descendant of one of these families and held the treasure there to bless others. The men finally brought this precious relic to the city of Vlachernae, near the capital of Constantinople, and a magnificent church was built to honor God’s gracious love for humanity by taking His flesh from one of our races! The underlying treasure of wisdom that Mary became the habitation of the Uncreated God in Jesus Christ meant She was formed to be the vessel from which God took His flesh so that we would all see the dignity and purpose of each of us as being the “Temple” of God in our times—an eternal Temple, not just a temporary “tent.”
Today, are you still stuck in the Temporary Tent, or are you discovering the wisdom preserved in our beautiful Faith that is meant to transform your everyday life? This awesome Orthodox Faith is the Eternal Temple of God’s People to draw everyone to live a Normal Orthodox Life!
P.S. O Ever-Virgin Theotokos, shelter of mankind, you have bestowed upon your people a mighty investure, even your immaculate body's raiment and sash, which by your seedless childbirth have remained incorrupt; for in you nature and time are made new. Wherefore, we implore you to grant peace to the world, and great mercy to our souls.
God bless you Father Barnabas as you attend the Clergy + Laity Conference.
Bridge the gaps between the true church, its eternal truths and its people.