May the mumbling commence!
You and I, we cast long shadows. As a part of the body of Christians, we house the Holy Spirit. We are temples. We are tabernacles. We are sanctuaries. We are both places to serve and places to be served. We are these things here on earth. The author of Hebrews says something profound: “They [human priests] serve at a sanctuary that is a copy and shadow of what is in heaven (8:5a).”
We are casting long shadows. When do the longest shadows happen? They happen either at dusk or at dawn. Have you ever sat outside in the late evening and watched dusk take a hold of creation? It is an agonizingly slow process of going from light to darkness. If we don’t pay careful attention, we will miss it entirely. It is best seen in the steady lengthening of shadows. Too often, we are surprised by the sheer beauty in the sunset.
Have you ever sat outside in the wee hours of the morning and watched dawn take a hold of creation? It too is an agonizingly slow process of going from darkness to light. Indeed, in a culture of instant gratification, dawn takes too long. It is far too easy to switch on a light to see. But light will obscure the beauty of the slow process of dawn. As the sun rises, long shadows become evident. It is the sunrise.
So, as we cast long shadows of what is in heaven, are we experiencing a sunset or a sunrise? The author of Hebrews answers this question in an emphatic way. Read from Hebrews chapter nine:
When Christ came as high priest of the good things that are already here, he went through the greater and more perfect tabernacle that is not man-made, that is to say, not a part of this creation. He did not enter by means of the blood of goats and calves; but he entered the Most Holy Place once for all by his own blood, having obtained eternal redemption. The blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkled on those who are ceremonially unclean sanctify them so that they are outwardly clean. How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God!
For this reason Christ is the mediator of a new covenant, that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance – now that he has died as a ransom to set them free from the sins committed under the first covenant.
In the case of a will, it is necessary to prove the death of the one who made it, because a will is in force only when somebody has died; it never takes effect while the one who made it is living. This is why even the first covenant was not put into effect without blood. When Moses had proclaimed every commandment of the law to all the people, he took the blood of calves, together with water, scarlet wool and branches of hyssop, and sprinkled the scroll and all the people. He said, "This is the blood of the covenant, which God has commanded you to keep." In the same way, he sprinkled with the blood both the tabernacle and everything used in its ceremonies. In fact, the law requires that nearly everything be cleansed with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.
It was necessary, then, for the copies of the heavenly things to be purified with these sacrifices, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. For Christ did not enter a man-made sanctuary that was only a copy of the true one; he entered heaven itself, now to appear for us in God's presence. Nor did he enter heaven to offer himself again and again, the way the high priest enters the Most Holy Place every year with blood that is not his own. Then Christ would have had to suffer many times since the creation of the world. But now he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to do away with sin by the sacrifice of himself. Just as man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment, so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him. (Verses 11-28)
Christ has opened unto us a new covenant. It is new. We cast long shadows in this world because we are anticipating a dawn in this dark and discouraging world. Take heart. A new light is dawning in the Son of God.
We feel the warmth of this light whenever we decide to serve God and others – whenever we decide to worship the Lord in all God’s splendor. There is a great hope for a new and better day. But that dawn takes so long…
Will you take my hand and wait with me? We will wait with action and with purpose!
Enough mumbling for now…
Peace Out
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