Curtains

A few months ago, my husband got a Blu-Ray player for the television in our living room.  We don’t seem to have time to watch a lot of TV, but movies at home are our standard weekend treat.  Now, my husband considers himself somewhat of a closet techie; he’s still trying to figure out most things tech-related, but really enjoys them when he does.  To get the most from his “Blu-Ray experience,” we went on a trek to Wal-Mart to find new curtains for the living room.  The old ones let in too much light, according to him, and caused an annoying glare.  I, being female, noticed nothing, but sometimes it’s easier to indulge his whims.  We came across a set of “energy-saving, noise-reducing” blackout curtains.  Jason beamed with excitement.  I was happy they came in a matching color.

                Once at home, Jason immediately removed the old curtains and replaced them with the new.  You could tell a big difference, if not on the television, in the room in general.  Nothing was getting through those heavy things.  The curtains worked great, for a couple of weeks.  One Saturday, without warning and in the middle of an action flick, a great snap was heard, and the curtains hit the floor.  They were just too heavy for the standard metal rod that held the old, lightweight curtains.  Light flooded the room with the disorientating realization that it was not night, nor were we in a movie theater.

                I was interested in that, on one day’s reading in the One Year this week, we deal with the issue of curtains in both the New and Old Testament selections.  The reading from Exodus details the construction of the curtain that would surround the Israelites’ make-shift temple.  Matthew’s selection tells us how that same curtain was ripped apart when Jesus dies on the cross.  One story shows us the lengths to which man must go for a relationship with God, the other illustrates the lengths to which God will go for a relationship with man.  You see, God never wanted a curtain, but the people of Israel couldn’t handle an up-close experience with the Holy One.  They wanted Moses and Aaron to be their middle-men.  They wanted to go on with their lives in their own ways and deal with God only when they wanted something.  But God doesn’t want a surrogate relationship with us. He wants to know each of us face -to-face. 

                Eventually, something had to give.  That something was Jesus.  His death broke the need for a curtain, even though it had a purpose for a while.  Can you imagine the reaction of those worshipping in the temple when the curtain split?  God’s glory must have flooded in, disorienting them, letting them know that it was no longer night, that they were no longer on the outside of His presence. 

                Curtains can serve a great purpose, or they can keep us from seeing the light (figuratively speaking).  What curtains do we have hanging up in our souls?  What areas of our lives do we still close off from God or others for fear of exposure to the light? That curtain might have served you well for a while, but it is time to let it go.  Letting the light in might be shocking, even disorienting for a time, but it always lets us see more in the end. 

                How do we open curtains in our souls? Get the issue out in the open.  Talk to someone.  Pray.  Search out scripture on the issue.  Better yet, apply the scripture to the issue. 

                It’s time to let the light in.