Truly one of the most enlightening things about reading Exodus so far has been the discovery of all the similarities between worship then and worship now. This is exactly the kind of thing I was hoping to gain from reading the Word in its entirety: a more adequate understanding of God and His dealings with man. Based on the total meticulousness of the descriptions of the tabernacle, the ark, the priests' vestments, and the form of worship, it is clear that God wanted something particular from His people. This cannot be glossed over. The essence of worship is to adore God, then and now. And of course the fundamental difference with our worship today is that Jesus Christ has taken the place of the sacrificial lamb; but, there are many facets of the old worship that are still used today because God has revealed them to be good. In Chapters 29 and 30 we learn of some of these things, in particular the burning of incense. Anyone who has been to a High Mass knows that incense plays a big role in Christian worship (just as it did for the ancient Israelites). Simply put, the burning of incense symbolizes our prayers ascending to God. There are some beautiful Biblical passages to illustrate this. Psalm 140:2 says, "Let my prayer be directed as incense in thy sight; the lifting up of my hands as evening sacrifice." And Apocalypse 8:4 says, "And the smoke of the incense of the prayers of the saints ascended up before God, from the hand of the Angel." Incense provides a beautiful symbol for the prayers offered during Mass. During the Offertory prayers of the Mass, the Holy Spirit is invoked, and the blessing of the bread and wine includes this prayer: "Incensum istud a te benedictum, ascendat ad te, Domine: et descendat super nos misericordia tua" (May this incense blessed by You, arise before You, O Lord, and may Your mercy come down upon us).
No comments:
Post a Comment