Psalm 24
Who shall ascend the hill of the LORD? And who shall stand in his holy place? The only human with clean hands and a pure heart will, and he will never lift up his soul to what is false. But his ascent will be descent. His clean hands will be pierced. His pure heart will be broken. His soul will be plunged into the depths of Sheol as he is lifted high on the cross.
When Jesus was born, those ancient gates and doors of creation were swung open for the Lord of hosts, the King of glory to fully enter our humanity. It’s not that our Creator ever left the earth or those who live in it, but that divine presence came within our reach. And on the cross, as Jesus suffers and dies, his broken body will swing open to allow us to more fully enter the three-partnered embrace of divinity.
I write all of this in the future tense, knowing that it has all already happened, but also knowing that it happens again and again. It can happen for you this Holy Week.
As the door of Jesus’ death opens before you, may you see it as an invitation to cross a holy threshold, not into a temple of stone and stained glass but into the heart of God which breaks open to let you in. May you offer not a sacrifice, for that is too safe. Instead, may you give your whole self, like your holy God. Like any love worth having, this intimacy will cost you, but it costs only that which makes your hands unclean and your heart impure. Only that which prevents you from lifting up your soul to the only One who is true.
Consider
What gates or doors do you see God opening in your life? What holy threshold is God inviting you to cross?
Pray
Lord of hosts, I seek your face! Break open my unclean heart. Open my impure hands. Unlock the gates of my life and reign in me today. I am yours. Amen.