The Temple

Nothing that I have heard yet about either the first or second temple has been brand new. But cumulatively it has a profound effect on my thinking that I believe will eventually prove to be earthshaking. That sounds serious, and I think it is.

For years I've been telling my parishioners that one cannot understand the New Testament without an appreciation for and respect for the Old Testament. That one cannot fall into the Marcionite trap of thinking that the OT God is a god of wrath and the NT God is a god of mercy; that YHWH and the Abba of Jesus are different gods. Ultimately that one cannot understand Jesus without understanding first-century Judaism.

But I am beginning to realize how "Protestant" my own version of the OT still is: focused more on Deuteronomy than Leviticus for example, more on the prophets than priests, more on "preaching" than worship. How odd for an Episcopalian! ;-)

The Temple was at the center of Jewish life after being rebuilt under Ezra and Nehemiah until it was destroyed in 70 AD by the Romans. The sacrificial life of Israel was at what was viewed as the center of the universe (all due respect to 'the hub' of Boston!) - Israel the center of the nations, Jerusalem the center of Israel, the Temple at the heart (or navel) of Jerusalem.
The Dome of the Rock sits now in the middle of the temple mount, as most probably know the Western Wall is all that is left of it. Some think the Dome of the Rock is built on top of what was the holy of holies.

The Temple was set up with the holy of holies as the place where God resided, a place only the high priest could go on the Day of Atonement. Outside of that only the priests could go; then only Israelites, then the court of the Gentiles. The "boundaries" were clearly deliniated so the language in the New Testament about the dividing wall between Gentiles and Jews being broken down is Temple language: literally the sense that in Christ that separation is broken down and "that wall is torn down." The language from Good Friday about the curtain of the temple in the holy of holies being rent in two is about the wall of separation even between God and God's people being broken open.

As I said, and tried to say to Marty and Chris last night, this isn't "new." But it's the cumulative effect of it all that I'm trying to wrap my head around. It's not really the way I've tended to come at the Old Testament and missing out on, or de-emphasizing, the Temple by focusing on prophetic critiques of its abuses or on Jesus turning the tables over tends to miss out on these issues of holiness, sacrifice, worship and so forth that shaped Christian practice.
So as with so much in this land there is lots to ponder. I am realizing how much I don't know about Judaism and Jewish practice, and thinking as well about those people praying on the plane. I have more questions than answers at this point but that probably isn't a bad thing.