When Moses came down the mountain from his meeting with a God carrying the two stone tablets of the covenant law – his face shone beams of light, his face was SO radiant that he had to wear a veil.

The face of one who had met face to face with God, was too much for those who had not (and could not).

From then on, Moses unveiled his face when he went in to the tabernacle and met with God, replacing the veil when he was with the people to hide the radiance. Temple worship proceeded from then . . .

We fast forward to those in the temple in Jesus day, who had become corrupt and crooked – the temple where the tables were overturned, the home of those who plotted Jesus’ downfall, the place of the pious, the set apart, the elite – the people who sent the temple guards (not roman soldiers) to arrest Jesus. Those FROM the temple, wanting to get rid of and destroy the very one who should have been the focus of their worship!

On the cross, as Jesus is breathing his last, the temple veil is torn in two. This veil separated the Holy of Holies from the rest of the temple – only the High Priest could go in. The equivalent of Moses meeting with God up the mountain or in the tabernacle. With Jesus death two things are being emphasised when the curtain is torn in two ::

Everyone now has access to the holy of holies, to this most intimate place of worship. Anyone and everyone can come, Jesus makes this possible by dealing once and for all with sin and death.

Temple worship is finished.

As we arrive at Easter Sunday morning I am just pondering if we really live beyond the veil? Is everyone welcome – are all able to come? Do we still have ‘worship’ pecking orders in the church? Do we live unveiled lives?

Surely, my face should be more radiant than it is – I have Christ IN me by the power of the Holy Spirit!

I am also asking whether sometimes in the church we have returned to a kind of temple worship. We measure commitment, still (though we might say we don’t) according to attendance at worship services in buildings. We measure our effectiveness at being ‘church’ on how many we can gather in one place on a Sunday – rather than whether those from our worshipping communities are seeking to live out their unveiled – Jesus is alive – all are welcome – all can come to Him – lives in a world in such desperate need.

The temple was done with. Even after the great commission from Jesus, to GO – it was some years later, and with a challenge from Paul to the Jerusalem based apostles – they needed to get OUT and move on!

Things would no longer be centred around the temple, around Jerusalem – the veil has been torn, the temple is DONE and – Beyond it is a world waiting to be born anew.