Originally posted April 2, 2012

One of the most significant elements in body theology is the actual, physical life, death, and resurrection of Jesus.  That’s why Christmas, Holy Week, and Easter Sunday are so pivotal.  We Christians are who we are because of who Christ is and what Christ did for us.  Let’s take a little flash Bible course this week to dig into the significance of what we are about to celebrate.

Sometimes looking at the big picture of the course of biblical history can help us understand what brings us to this moment of Christ’s preparation for death.  Here are some key elements of the story of God.

1. God takes evening walks with Adam and Eve in the garden.

2. Becoming aware of their nakedness and feeling ashamed causes them to hide from God.

3. God’s people become afraid of God and ask Moses to speak to God on their behalf.

4. God’s people are afraid even of the glory of God reflected on Moses’ face, so he has to wear a veil until the glory fades.

5. God instructs the people to build the Ark of the Covenant, where God’s presence will be confined among them.

6. The people never touch or open the Ark of the Covenant because it is so holy.

7. The Ark lives in its own tent among them, called the Tabernacle, where the people come to worship God.

8. After Moses, God speaks only to specific people God chooses, usually prophets, kings, or priests. These chosen few share God’s words with the people–who often do not listen.

9. To see the face of God is to die, and even the prophet Elijah–who asks to see God’s face–covers his face with his robe before meeting God at the mouth of the cave.

10. Once God’s people settle down in one place and begin to build houses instead of tents, God instructs King Solomon to build a temple for God to live in.

11. God’s presence is reserved for the Holy of Holies–a small area within the temple restricted from everyone where the Ark is kept, the entrance to which is blocked with a thick curtain.

12. Once a year, on the Day of Atonement, the high priest goes through an elaborate cleansing ritual in preparation to enter the Holy of Holies and sprinkle the blood of the sacrificed animal to atone for the people’s sins.  (They even tie a rope around his foot each time in case he dies from the experience of being with God and has to be dragged out to be buried since no one else is allowed to enter the Holy of Holies, even to retrieve a dead body.)

To be continued…