Thursday, 3rd, August 2023
The Tent of Meeting was reverently designed as a meeting point of the Divine and human. God whose presence can not be localized had freely commanded Moses to construct a Tabernacle (Hebrew Mishkan meaning “dwelling”), a special place for His dwelling and worship, for the wandering house of Israel during their exodus.
The first reading recounts God’s majestic presence in the form of a cloud over the Tent, so much that Moses could enter the tent (Ex 40:16-21, 34-38). God governed them and led them by cloud in the day and fire by night.
God dwells amongst us. His abiding presence is evidently assured in our time. Jesus is sacramentally present in the tabernacles of the world. And, the glory of his presence could be seen with the eyes of faith. He is the new covenant, the visible face of the Father who leads us on our journey to eternity. The Blessed Virgin Mary is the Ark that embodied the Saviour.
The Church auditorium and chapels where the perpetual presence of Jesus is sacramentally visible must be reverently respected for what it stands for, a place of worship and divine encounter. Describing the awesomeness of God’s presence, the psalmist says “How lovely is your dwelling place, O Lord of hosts” (Ps 84:1).
We pray God to open our eyes to behold the glory of his dwelling. May His divine cloud lead us by day and fire by night, Amen.
Fr. Ken
Seventeenth Week in Ordinary Time 2023