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Easter Concert

             And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, he gave up his spirit.

            At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook, the rocks split and the tombs broke open. The bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life. (Matthew 27:5o-52)

 

            I know. It’s Resurrection Sunday and the passage above comes from what happened on Good Friday. But it marked the beginning like so many other things that happened on Friday. Let’s focus on one of the images presented: the curtain of the temple was torn from the top to the bottom. If you were a priest in that temple, what would you have thought or done? No doubt, there had been little tears before, especially along the bottom hem. And when they were discovered, someone probably fixed them. But generally speaking, those are probably of a few moments of darning. But this was major.

            They might have found an old or temporary veil with which to replace it until the torn one was repaired or replaced. They might have set up ladders or scaffolding and done the repairs in situ. If they did the latter, they probably still put up some sort of curtain between the Holy of Holies so that those doing the repair wouldn’t be killed. Now, just for a second… there was an earthquake, rocks split (tore?), and the tombs broke (tore?) open. Bodies of many holy people were raised to life (tearing a different veil? And what happened to them?)

You know those magnificent pieces of music that repeat a chorus several times, each time getting a little louder, or a little more complex, until the last repetition when everything is fortissimo (ff or fff) and the soprano or tenor hits and holds that impossibly high note, or the alto or bass hits and holds the impossible low note (or both!)? Or, if you prefer something more classical, consider the 1812 Overture, which builds to the point of using canons as musical instruments. You know – those magnificent, pull out all the stops endings?

Well, it’s the morning of the third day, and as Jesus had warned them, the stone has been rolled away. The seal on the tomb was broken (torn.) And with that thought… enjoy the concert

 

Easter Concert

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