A Holy Place

We talked about our misconceptions about the Temple. We talked about our misunderstandings about the priest. We talked about how our experience as members of the contemporary church can color the things that we think about the Temple and the priest. And we talked, briefly, about why that matters - because in the shadow of the Cross, we are the Temple and we are the priests. 

Now, let's be a little more bold about how we say this. 

If someone comes to you, and you are not interceding for them, you are not a priest.

If they come, and you are not sacrificing for them, you are not a priest. 

If they come, and you are not offering healing, you are not a priest.

If they come, and you are not bringing them to the mercy seat of God, you are not a priest. 

If they come, and you are not breaking bread in their presence, you are not a priest. 

If they come, and you are not welcoming them in, you are not the Temple. 

If they come, and you are not leading them in singing the song of their soul, you are not the Temple. 

If they come, and you do not open the curtain between the holy and the most holy places, you are not a priest. 

If they come, and you are not making a way for them, you are not a priest. 

If they come, and they can't get in, you are not the Temple. 

If they come, and they are not meeting God in your presence, you are not a priest and you are not the Temple. 

When this world comes to us as Christians, they expect to meet God.

They expect there to be mercy. 

They expect there to be grace. 

They expect there to be sacrifice. 

They expect there to be worship. 

They expect there to be goodness. 

They expect there to be joy. 

They expect there to be authenticity. 

They expect there to be love. 

And if the world comes to you as a Christian and does not find these things, these very basic things that the people of God have always known to be found at the Temple and through the priest, then you aren't a living witness. You aren't living up to the calling God has put on your life. You aren't doing the very thing God has created you to do and equipped you to do through the Cross of His Son. 

If the world comes to you as a Christian and finds only preaching and programs and judgment, you are not the Temple and you are not the priest that God called you to be. 

That's why it's so important that we read the Old Testament and not just skim through it, that we work to understand what these things - the Temple and the priest - were and what they meant to the people of God, what function they served in the community. 

Because we are today's Temple and we are today's priests and the sad truth is, I think we're living far short of everything that ought to mean - to us, to our brothers and sisters, and to the watching (and seeking) world.