I had a talk with someone this week who said they don’t know why they are exhausted. I said, “When is the last time you got a massage, or took a day away for yourself, or simply said, “No?”
This person looked at me with deep puzzlement. She didn’t understand how a person could be Christian and still take care of themselves at the same time.
She asked, “Don’t you always have to put others before yourself? Don’t you have to sacrifice yourself in order to follow God’s ways?”
I told her those were excellent questions. Ones that I had struggled with myself for a long time. In order to do that, I want to go back in time, to one of the parts of the Easter story that we don’t like to think about very much. The crucifixion. I want us to look at it because there are several things happening at that exact moment of death, in the midst of this great universal upheaval.
as Jesus breathed his last, there was darkness over the earth; an earthquake struck; tombs of dead saints were opened; Jesus cried out. And “the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom.”
When I was in middle school, it was cool to have holes in the knees of your jeans, so my friends taught me how to rub them out on the cement so they were easy to rip. But every time I had them looking perfect, my mom would patch them up!
Cloth is not hard to rip.
The veil that separated the Most Holy place, the one that tore when Jesus cried out, is described in pretty great detail both in scripture and in non-religious history books.
The veil before the Most Holy Place was 60 feet long, and 30 feet wide, and at least four inches thick…
In the beginning, in Genesis, we find God walking with Adam and Even in the cool of the day. He is close to them. They are free to be together, to converse and share. Then, they defile themselves with sin. They let sin enter the perfect paradise, and in the same way you cannot breathe underwater, Adam and Eve could no longer dwell in the garden. God had to send angels to guard it. But God did not stop loving his children.
In the book of Exodus, right after the Lord delivers the Children of Israel from the Egyptians, God comes to meet them on the mountain. The trouble is, the mountain is trembling, there is smoke and fire and the Israelites are so terrified that they send Moses on their behalf. God has Moses build a temple so that God can be with his people. He orders very specific directions for this temple. The thick curtain offers a barricade between the Holy of Holies in the temple and the most holy place so that the people can stand outside of all of this and be near God.
Now you have the background on the curtain.
The veil being torn from top to bottom is a fact of history.
But, still, it seems a strange thing to happen, don’t you think?
Ok… we also have to remember why Jesus came to be one of us. Sad, but true, not only did he put on human skin so that we could know God, but also to take our sin and death away so that we would not have to separated from God any longer. We could have eternal life! Jesus opened the way for us! And, we know this happened, because he came back to show people! Hundreds of people saw him! The veil in the temple separates the people from God. Because of sin, we cannot be in the presence of the Holy or we would become ash where we stand. We cannot look upon the radiance of God and live. We are not pure enough.
So… we know that God dwelled in the temple and God dwelled in the form of a human – Jesus.
When the human body released Christ’s spiritual body, he cried out! “It is finished!” What was finished? The separation between the people and God.
The veil separating the people from God was torn in two.
But, wouldn’t we all turn to ash?
Remember, during those days when Jesus was in the tomb, something was brewing. Something was happening, and I imagine, in the heavenly realms, we will never know the full of it, but when Jesus returned, he proved that he was God and that he was the first to conquer sin and death on behalf of us. The veil of sin had been taken away by the shedding of Christ’s pure blood, and now we have complete access to God.
But wait… there’s more…
So now the veil is torn and God isn’t hanging out in the Holy of Holies. And after 40 days, Jesus says, “I’m leaving. But it’s good that I go, because, the incarnation that is to come is what you need. I am going away so that the Holy Spirit can come.” The Disciples have no idea what Jesus is talking about. And poof… off he goes.
What he does tell them is that they should wait in Jerusalem, and when the Holy Spirit comes, they will know it.
I think too often we associate the Holy Spirit with a happy feeling or the essence of a person or mission or situation. But, when we do that, we seriously mistake who the Holy Spirit is. Remember the fire and smoke on the mountain? The Holy Spirit is a powerful being whom we should approach with respect and fear and trembling. But, more than anything, the Holy Spirit loves us and fights for us and is our voice of reason, helping us in this earthly struggle.
It was only a few days later that the Disciples were gathered together when the house they were staying in began to shake violently. A sound like a mighty wind came rushing and something appeared above their heads like flames and they began to speak in all kinds of languages so that they could go out into the busy streets during that festival time and tell all the travelers about Jesus the Messiah.
It was on that day that the Holy Spirit came to dwell in us. That was God’s design, that we would be saved through Christ and be anointed by the Holy Spirit.
So, now, I go back to my friend’s question about renewing her spirit and taking a break. How can a person be Christian and still take care of themselves at the same time? Isn’t Christianity meant to be sacrificial? Didn’t Christ sacrifice himself for us?
Yes. He did. So that we can be heirs in the kingdom! When God created the universe, he modeled sabbath rest. Even commanded it! When Jesus walked with his disciples, he modeled rest. Even when the crowds were gathering in, he pulled the disciples away to go to a quiet place.
God’s countenance is no longer shrouded behind a veil. God doesn’t need to be here; we have an advocate with us. Christ no longer walks on earth with us, he has gone to prepare a place for us. So, the question begs…
Where does the Holy Spirit dwell?
(Pause to let it click in that their bodies are the temple)
Doesn’t it make sense then, to care for God’s temple since it contains the sacred? Doesn’t it make sense to stay refreshed and nourished? Doesn’t it make sense to live in a way that promotes wellness so that you can be better equipped to do God’s work?
This is a hard concept in our society where we value output. We watch over our shoulders to see how much someone else is doing and how hard they are working. These measures are skewed.
Can’t draw water from an empty well.
Do not let God’s temple fall into ruin. You know what that looks like when you are too emotionally exhausted to tend to the weeds, and they overgrow the windows and doors… or when a storm comes, but you don’t have the strength to protect the precious temple. Don’t let God’s temple fall into ruin. And don’t let it happen to your brother or your sister.
If you sacrifice yourself fully for others, there’s nothing left and you cannot serve anyone. That doesn’t sound like God’s plan. We are called on to serve others and to be in community with one another.
Starting today, be gentle with yourself because you are the temple of the Holy Spirit! I dare say, even pamper yourself! Do something you really like doing! Allow yourself some downtime. Just like we talked about at Easter, you are an earthen vessel carrying a very precious gift. Take care of yourself. Play. Sleep. Enjoy things. You will need the strength for this journey, and we need each other. Amen.
