Happy Thursday!! What a beautiful day for the last day of winter. When I return to school on Monday, my students and I will take Murray out of his Gevalia Coffee box where he has been hibernating since before Christmas and let him enjoy the beautiful spring weather. In case there are those of you who do not remember, Murray is our Build-a-Bear groundhog.

Today Geni and I went to Howe to visit Mom and Dad. We had lunch at Chili’s with my aunt and then went back to Mom and Dad’s for a wonderful visit for the remainder of the day. It was such a great day. Mom and Dad are doing well as are the rest of the family in the Sherman area.

Mark 15:37-38 says, “Then Jesus cried out in a loud voice and died. The curtain in the Temple was torn into two pieces, from top to bottom.”

The curtain referred to in this scripture was the huge curtain that separated the people from the Holy of Holies. The Holy of Holies contained the Ark of the Covenant that contained the tablets of the Ten Commandments and other sacred Hebrew documents. The Holy of Holies was only accessible to the priests of the temple and then only once a year. The size of the curtain was 60 feet tall and 30 feet wide. I am sure it weighed hundreds of pounds. At the moment of the death of Jesus the Bible records the curtain was torn from top to bottom. A curtain torn from top to bottom weighing hundreds of pounds fell to the ground in quite a dramatic motion leaving the Holy of Holies exposed for all to see. This curtain is a symbol of what separated the people from God. The only way to God was through the Levite priests as they carried their requests to God. When that curtain fell, the symbol of what separated the people from God was gone.

The curtain separated the Jews from God. What curtains separates us from God? Jesus came that we may no longer be separated from God. God came to earth in the form of Jesus empowered by the Holy Spirit so that we are welcomed before God at any time. The coming of Jesus removed all barriers between us and God. The sacrifice of Jesus meant no more animal sacrifices. God only requires from us a contrite heart and a broken spirit. A broken spirit than can only be healed by the forgiveness of the sacrificed Christ and the risen Lord. The curtain we have between us and God is our sin. Sin is the only thing that separates us from God. We do not have to take sacrifices or anything before God, we just take our brokenness and ask God to forgive us of our sins and mend our broken relationship. Heaven must have held its breath then wept bitterly when Jesus breathed His last. If there is any anger in heaven it must have happened on that Friday. But how heaven rejoices when the curtain of our sin is torn and the love and forgiveness of God floods our souls with cleansing water and we can once again go before God with the assurance that we are always welcome.

Take joy in the journey. Love you all, Bruce, Gaylene, Geni and Travis.

Gcapplenotes@aol.com

I am not moved by what I see. I am not moved by what I feel. I am moved only by what I believe and I believe God.