Daily Retreat 07/28/09
2009 Jul 28 Tue:Ordinary Weekday
Ex 33:7-11; 34:5b-9. 28/Ps 102 (103)/ Mt 13:36-43
From today’s readings:“As Moses entered the tent, the column of cloud would come down and stand at its entrance while the LORD spoke with Moses..... The Lord is kind and merciful..... He who sows good seed is the Son of Man, the field is the world, the good seed the children of the Kingdom....”
Tabernacles and Tents
After the exodus out of Egypt, the Israelites were a nomadic people en route to the promised land, and so of course they had no temple, but they did still have a sacred dwelling place. In Exodus, chapters 25-31 and 35-40, mention is made of a very special tent, “the meeting tent,” which was the physical focal point for worship, prayer, and “meeting” with God.
Hundreds of years later, at the time of King David, God’s presence was still enshrined in a sacred tent housing the ark of the covenant, but the Israelites themselves had become firmly settled in the promised land. Finally, Solomon built the magnificent temple in Jerusalem and transferred the ark there as the new sacred dwelling place, but the Temple’s design clearly incorporated a “tent” motif in the central sanctuary to emphasize the continuity of God’s presence with His people from their nomadic beginnings.
The Latin word tabernaculum simply means “tent.” The tabernacle of each church is thus still an essential element of continuity, for the Lord’s Real Presence dwells in the tabernacle, retaining the focus of our worship, prayer, and awareness of “meeting” with God.
Ex 33:7-11; 34:5b-9. 28/Ps 102 (103)/ Mt 13:36-43
From today’s readings:“As Moses entered the tent, the column of cloud would come down and stand at its entrance while the LORD spoke with Moses..... The Lord is kind and merciful..... He who sows good seed is the Son of Man, the field is the world, the good seed the children of the Kingdom....”
Tabernacles and Tents
After the exodus out of Egypt, the Israelites were a nomadic people en route to the promised land, and so of course they had no temple, but they did still have a sacred dwelling place. In Exodus, chapters 25-31 and 35-40, mention is made of a very special tent, “the meeting tent,” which was the physical focal point for worship, prayer, and “meeting” with God.
Hundreds of years later, at the time of King David, God’s presence was still enshrined in a sacred tent housing the ark of the covenant, but the Israelites themselves had become firmly settled in the promised land. Finally, Solomon built the magnificent temple in Jerusalem and transferred the ark there as the new sacred dwelling place, but the Temple’s design clearly incorporated a “tent” motif in the central sanctuary to emphasize the continuity of God’s presence with His people from their nomadic beginnings.
The Latin word tabernaculum simply means “tent.” The tabernacle of each church is thus still an essential element of continuity, for the Lord’s Real Presence dwells in the tabernacle, retaining the focus of our worship, prayer, and awareness of “meeting” with God.
posted by FrPitstick | 7/25/2009
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