Tuesday ....

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Today is Tuesday, January 28, 2013.

Good Morning.

A thought for the day:
We should all have our “Arks” to remind us of the presence of God.

The Church’s 1st reading for today: 2 Samuel chapter 6 verses 12b-15, 17-19

David went to bring up the ark of God from the house of Obed-edom
into the City of David amid festivities.
As soon as the bearers of the ark of the LORD had advanced six steps,
he sacrificed an ox and a fatling.
Then David, girt with a linen apron,
came dancing before the LORD with abandon,
as he and all the house of Israel were bringing up the ark of the LORD
with shouts of joy and to the sound of the horn.
The ark of the LORD was brought in and set in its place
within the tent David had pitched for it.
Then David offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before the LORD.
When he finished making these offerings,
he blessed the people in the name of the LORD of hosts.
He then distributed among all the people,
to each man and each woman in the entire multitude of Israel,
a loaf of bread, a cut of roast meat, and a raisin cake.
With this, all the people left for their homes.

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As creatures of time and space, we seem to need some sort of center for our faith. The local church building often serves this purpose for many of us, and our grand cathedrals attest to this as well. For David and the Israelites (in our Scripture passage this morning) the centering impulse was focused on the Ark of the Covenant. One of David's shrewdest acts was to rescue the Ark from the place of oblivion in which it had rested since the fall of the confederate sanctuary of Shiloh, and to bring it to Jerusalem.

The contents of the Ark are believed to have been the two tablets of stone on which were recorded the Law – the Ten Commandments (which was considered the basis of the covenant between God and Israel). This Ark was housed in the Holy of Holies, first in the Tabernacle, later in the Temple. After being kept in a tent-like sanctuary during David's time, it was finally installed in the holiest chamber of Solomon's Temple, beneath the cherubim. Nothing is known of what became of the Ark.

Today in many synagogues an ark is placed in the wall of the structure facing Jerusalem, toward which prayers are directed.

The richness of this symbolism is to be preserved, as is all symbolism that points to our Creator. In our Catholic Churches we have the Tabernacle located in or near the Sanctuary which houses the Sacramental presence of Christ, The beloved Son of God.

Our own presence, too, as a Christian, should reflect the divine within us so that those looking for God don’t have to look too far.

Does your person reflect the presence of God?

God bless,
Father Pat



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