Episode Transcript
Speaker 0 00:02 Uh,
Speaker 1 00:05 some 16th centuries ago, that great saying father and doctor, the church hope. St Leo, the great said quote, Pentecost holds within it. Great mysteries where it is most clearly revealed to us that the sacred rights of the Old Testament had served as foundations for the Gospel. Close quote Saint Leo, the Great Pentecost Class clearly reveals to us that the sacred rights of the Old Testament or the foundations of the Gospel, what does this name, how does Pentecost clearly revealed as to us? In order to understand this, we need to take a few minutes reviewing what happened at three places, Eden, the apple, Mount Sinai. Then we need to take a quick look at a few aspects of old testament worship and then apply what we've learned there to Pentecost and then what we're doing here. The car beat, we have to always remember that everything that we do here right here is related in some way to the garden of Eden will never understand or holy religion in chat.
Speaker 1 01:20 We can't understand our holy religion without understanding it. Everything we do here, it's somehow related to the garden of Eden. Now the word paradise means a hedged in Garden and Moses tells us that in the beginning before the garden was destroyed in the great flood, therefore great rivers flowing out of it. Since Eden was hedged in and since rivers flow down hill that tells us to the garden of Eden was an enclosed sanctuary sat on top of a mountain. It's the very threshold of having a place where men could live in the intimate presence of God, but that relationship with God was based on obedience. Adam was assigned as God's steward to keep the garden, not to lounge around without a sort of responsibility. The privilege of living in God's presence was based on responsible obedience. If man just evade, he'd be punished with that.
Speaker 1 02:22 If man just obeyed, the whole natural order would be disrupted. If man disobeyed child during would be painful. If man disobeyed work could become difficult entire. If man disobeyed, he'd be driven away from the privilege of living in God's presence and he would no longer be able to live in that beautiful sanctuary on the mountain top out of which flowed rivers of water. You don't need me to tell you that man disobey and all these disasters fell upon him and he was driven out and eaten was close to him. Nan was no longer holy. The holy place where he wants walk with God was veiled. He no longer had access to it. He God placed Cherubim and a flaming sword, turning every way to keep anyone from entering the car and approaching the tree of life. What lessons can we draw from me in the car to the Eaton?
Speaker 1 03:22 Was she a prototype of the conditions and environment which man can safely encounter God? For example, we are introduced to ideas. It's separation is an essential part of holiness. That there are degrees of holiness. Time has different levels of holdings. The Sabbath is more holy than other days of the week. Why? Because it's been set aside for God. Stays has different levels of holiness. The sanctuary of the garden on a mountain top is holier than outside. Things have different levels of holiness. The tree of life is holier than all the other trees in the garden. People have different levels of holiness. There's no comparison between Adams Adams holiness the 40 foul and afterwards. So the key notion is holiness is determined by the degree to which something has been set aside for and dedicated to God. And we see a basic pattern. Adam was given a camp command to keep and guard the first sanctuary, enter the garden leading he did so bay and he and all his descendants were driven out.
Speaker 1 04:31 The basic principle here is that the closer man approaches to the inevitably holy presence of the Almighty God, the more his accountability increases and the stricter his punishments become for any infractions, we see a basic temptation, the idea of self determination. I'll do what I want the lie the circuit was that man could be as a god deciding for himself what was good and evil, but in spite of the devil's lies, man remains a creature and therefore he's bound to a bar, the laws of his creator. In other words, he's bound to do what God wants and then can only have a true relationship with God by carefully keeping his divine law. The Tower of Babel Dabble is located down in the plains of shower, down out of the mountains, down in the realm of fallen man, scripture quotes, and then at the apple saying, let us make a city and a tower.
Speaker 1 05:35 The top where of me reached to heaven and let us make our names famous. Notice that in their pride they weren't going to use any natural materials such as wooden stone. Instead, let us make bricks and let us take them with fire. What are they trying to do? Make a manmade mountain, build their own mouth except her own name rather than name of God. They were going to come to God on their own terms. The Jewish historian Josephus writing the first century described as in a battle pointing out, quote, Nimrod persuaded men to believe it was not because of God. The rather who was their own courage which gave him happiness. Nimrod, who is the leader in Raj said that if God should have a mind to drown the world again, he would build a tower too high for the waters to be able to reach and that he would advance himself on God for destroying their forefathers.
Speaker 1 06:33 Now the multitude were very ready to follow Nimrod and to consider it cowardly to submit to God. When God saw that they active so madly, he caused the Tamale to among them producing in them diverse languages so they should not be able to understand one another close quote Flavius Josephus obviously and then a Babel or a law under themselves deciding what's good and evil. But of course man is needs to know and to love and to serve God, not himself since God and God alone who are still the chlorine. So I love the men in battle where United and the common cause it was a cause of self fulfillment because it's self esteem, a union of evil, a chorus of voices shouting, we will not sir, we will do it our way. So Babel Scans to the total inversion of reality. We will dictate maturity, curve relationships to God.
Speaker 1 07:39 We will set ourselves apart from his law. We will ascend, we will be a law unto ourselves. We will exalt our name. And so although men were bonded in unity, be priced precisely because it's a unity of secular humanism. We can almost hear God's shy as he says. Quote. Behold is one. People in all have one time and they begun to do this, but let's go down and there confound their tongue that they may not understand one another's speech. Sitar. Babel teaches us clearly that sin not only leads to further separation from God, but even from each other. There's an important symmetry we see here, holiness, obedience, and closest to God go together. Holiness, obedience and closest to God. And they're opposed to sinfulness, rebellion and distance from God and one another. So on the one hand you have holiness, obedience, and closest to God and other hand you got sinfulness, rebellion, and distance from God and one another.
Speaker 1 08:45 Now, the Sinai, 50 days after Israel passed in the Red Sea, Moses goes up into the cloud and mt shine. Why a cloud? Remember that since the fall of Adam, men couldn't walk freely in the presence of the Lord. So why cloud? According to the ancient tradition, this cloud veiled the lower self protected Moses and made impossible for him to enter God's presence without being killed. And so Moses goes into the cloud and receives the 10 commandments the whole time. It's mountain smoking. It's shaken with earthquakes. There's planes and bolts of lightning and Roth sonder, PLF trumpets and whirlwinds and storms. Well, all this is going on right there at the base of the mountain. What happens? The people rise up and commit idolatry. Now think about that right in front of them is this huge smoking mountain. It's covered with the cloud. There's flames and lightning and thunder and trumpet blast from the aim souls and they just rise right up and sin.
Speaker 1 09:51 They set up an idol right in God's face and then refuse to serve him. And then Moses comes down and says, if any man is on the Lord's side, let him join me. It's the tribe of Levi. I took up their stores and killed the rebellious idolaters. Then he thousands of men and because of their obedience, because they put their love for the holy will of God before their love for their own flesh and blood God set aside to try to Levi to be his priestly tribe. At Mount Sinai, we see that the law, the word of God carved in stone tablets is handed down from God to Moses on the mountain top and elevated sanctuary and the destruction of the sinners by the store to Levis. We against you the principle that the closer man approaches to the ineffably holy presence of the Almighty God.
Speaker 1 10:44 Tomorrow's Accountability increases and the strictures punishments become for any infractions and the selection of Levi x as the priesty tribe. We can see the keynote ocean. That obedience to God's will leads to holiness and holiness means being set farther apart from profane use and dedicated more exclusively to God. Okay. We're trying to understand what Pope St Louis was a great man when he said that. Pentecost clearly reveals to us that the sacred rights the Old Testament had served for a foundations of the Gospel. So now we've taken a brief look at Eden, the apple and Mount Sinai. Now we have enough background information to take a brief look at some aspects of the old testament worship and then we'll tie that to Pentecost and the day worship in the tabernacle and in the temple. The true worship of the Old Testament Times was handed down on Mount Sinai directly to Moses. By God, God dictated even the smallest detail of how the religious ceremonies were to be performed.
Speaker 1 11:48 For example, the Torah, which is also called the law or the Pentatude. That's the first five books in the which were written by Moses. They're whole lists of infractions, which God told Moses were offenses against His Holiness. For example, the Lord tells Aaron the high priest that he or his sons must not drink any intoxicating drinks before they go into serve. At the alter, he tells them they must tell us to be properly clothed. The punishment for either offense is death. Did God mean that? Would God really kill Aaron or one of his sons for going into the holy place, drunk or not wearing the proper clothing? You better believe that Jessica, for the warning about drinking, he had struck dead two of Aaron's sons for liturgical abuse. God means what he says and he doesn't ever change his mind. Now that was the divine punishment for the liturgical abuse in the olden days.
Speaker 1 12:47 If you think that we priests of the new covenant are going to get off any lighter. Think again the tent like church Israel used before they built the temple was called the tabernacle. It was designed like a, and as we've seen it was gardens shared by them. Then from the priestly tribe of Levi, the holy of holies was the most sacred place in the Tabernacle and later on in the temple, which was a permanent structure built with the same basic patterns of Tabernacle on Mount Moriah and Jerusalem. Inside the holy of holies was the Ark of the covenant, which until the temple was built, traveled with Israel, the are was a golden box built to exact specifications given by God. He contained a number of items, including the two tablets, contained the word of God. The 10 commandments which were carved in stone like God himself, and also contained a jar full of Nana, which is that bread that had fallen from heaven dark had a golden lid with two Cherubim on him.
Speaker 1 13:49 The Ledge called the mercy sea and over the mercy seat, the glory cloud as the Lord would appear. That's the old testament equivalent or the old testament foreshadowing of the real presence. Now, the arc was so holy, it couldn't even be touched. It could only be carried by certain members of the tribe of Levi and they couldn't touch it. They had to slide golden covered poles, two rings on the side of the arch and then pick it up and pack it on their shoulders like this. Now remember what happened to Ozo when King David was having the arc moved up to Jerusalem, they put it on a car, but it looked like it was going to slip off. <inaudible> grabbed onto it. It was struck dead right then and there. When God says don't touch something, he means it. The sacred vessel, it's used to hold the sacrificial blood and the worship of the camp were also holy and not meant to be used for any profane thing.
Speaker 1 14:43 Remember how King Baltis our Babylon was having a big party? It decided the vessels that have been captured when they destroyed the temple should be brought out and drank. Honor. No, seriously. They do that and then they saw that fight for apparition of that hand writing on the wall and that very night King Baltar started was killed and his kingdom was overthrown. When God says handle something reverently, he means him. We have to remember that every time man enters into holy place, his accountability increases. Every infraction is strictly punished by God who is all holy. We have to be reverend. We have to be careful not to get too casual with God, not to get too casual with holy things. God loves us, but we have to pay attention to what he says. We need to have what's called a reverential fear of the Lord and not act like followers of Nimrod like men from Babel when we're in his presence.
Speaker 1 15:45 So God dictated even the smallest details of how the religious ceremonies were to be carried out and he commanded at the entrance to the holy of holies, she'd be covered with a massive veil employer with the images of chairman. Why was it failed and why were there images a Cherubim embroidered on the veil? Because the holy of holies was a symbolic garden and beaten and Mount Sinai and heaven. How's that? We'll remember that because of the original sin man's to have not have eaten and eaten and heaven are both close to man. The entrance to eating his clothes covered Dale man so longer. Holy, the holy place where he wants to walk with God is veil. He no longer has access to it. So how can it be symbolically the garden of Eden? It's easy. The holy of holies is a place where the arc of the covenant plates, where the Glory Cloud, who Lord, the presence of the Lord would dwell over that mercy seat.
Speaker 1 16:43 And since man had been driven out from enjoying the privilege of living in intimate union with God, the holy of holies, this liturgical garden of Eden was closed. It's close to all men except for the high priest who could only enter one day per year. Okay, it's covered with a veil. But why are there cheering him on it? Gestures. God placed the chairman at the entrance to the garden of Eden to keep men out after the fall. So I was the chair of him on the veil or symbolically guardian, the way to the holy of holies, reminding everyone, even the priests, there's no longer any access to the holy of holies to that intimate presence of God except for the high priest once a year and there's no longer any access at all to the inside of the arch, to the Nana, that bread from heaven.
Speaker 1 17:31 These things have been closed to men, but in spite of the fact that the holy of holies is close to man, the priest representing the Jewish people perform rights that symbolized their nation service, the performing rights to symbolize the service to the nation as a whole. And they're doing them right in front. The holy of holies, right at the very threshold of the place where God is present. And it's not accidental that the words scripture uses to describe the duties of priests and Levis as they work in. And God, the sanctuary are exactly the same words that are used to describe Adam's duties of working and guarding the garden. Okay, we can see how it represents the Eden. What about Mount Sinai? When Moses met face to face with God on top of Mount Sinai to receive the law, he did this in to fake cloud, which they all the majesty of the Lord, and as we've seen at protected Moses and made it possible for him to enter into God's presence without being killed.
Speaker 1 18:28 When God dictated a Moses, the precise rubrics that the priest must use when he approaches the holy of holies, he commanded the priest, use a cloud of incense for protection. Why? This is a quote from God that he might not got close quote just as a cloud on Mount Sinai, I served as a veil and made it possible for Moses to be safe in God's presence. So also the caught up incense using the sanctuary protected the priests of the old covenant from the divine presence in the holy of holies and Mount Sinai. The faithful couldn't see God giving the tablets to Moses rather quote, all the people saw the voices and the flames and the sound of trumpet and the Mountain Smoking and the sight of the glory of the Lord. It was like a burning fire upon the top of the mountain in the eyes of the children of Israel.
Speaker 1 19:14 Close quote, exodus. Similarly, the faithful going up to the temple in Old Testament Times couldn't see the arc of the covenant because it's in the holy of holies and covered with a veil. They couldn't see the altar of incense because it stood in the holy place right in front of the veil, but they could see the smoke and the fire on Mount Sinai. So I'll sneak and see the smoke pour out from the top of the temple. When incense was offered and they could see the altar Bernoff springs, which stood immediately in front of the holy place in the courtyard of the temple, and on that alter they could see the fire. It's the perpetual fire that fall down from heaven and the priests had to keep burning an altar as God said, the perpetual fire actually kept bringing on the altar not to go out perpetual heavenly fire ever visible to the faithful.
Speaker 1 20:00 Okay, now we've taken a brief look over the worship and the Tabernacle and temple. Let's tie it all together. Tower of Babel. At Babel, the unity of language was broken because of their desire. Men Tease out their name on Pentecost. The unity of language is symbolically restored because of the desire man takes all the name of God. From the upper room on Mount Sinai on the Holy Spirit began pouring out his rivers of the true flowing waters of graves to water the earth and glorify the name of the Lord. Immediately. Representatives of all the nations scattered over the earth began flowing into the unity of the one true church and in contrast to Sinai, when Moses brought down the old law from Mount Sinai and leave, I took shorts and flew thousands of centers. Saint Peter comes down from the upper room on Mount Sinai on to bring the new love to preach the Gospel, the word of the Lord and uses the sword of the spirit.
Speaker 1 20:58 Just lay the sins up. 3000 then that day, remember the heavenly fire in the tempo, that perpetual fire that fell from heaven upon the altar of burnt offerings was kept alive by the priests for generation after generation for shadow of the heavenly fire that followed the Catholic church on the first pan of cars, the fire that fell on the blessed Virgin Mary's St Peter, the Apostle St Mary Magdalen and all the 120 in upper room a fire. They found them as if they were each arch to the covenant of the Pecho fire that will never go out the life and soul of the Catholic church and with the eyes of say that perpetual fire is ever visible to the faithful throughout new testament times he kept his, he then kept burning never to be put out in a hierarchy in the church, in the pope and the bishops and the fire that fell and upper room I Pentecost is the same fire that was first apart in each of our souls that are baptism.
Speaker 1 22:01 They grew with our first confession, our first holy communion and confirmation, and then for men in my state of life, he plays his journey ordination when the direct spiritual descendant of one of those apostles in the upper room passes on that fire by the laying on of his hands just as Adam commune with God on top of the mountain in the garden of Eden and just as Moses commune with God on top of Mount Sinai and just is a high priest, Knuth God and top of Mount Moriah and just the St pier committed with God and top of Mount Sinai. So Austin, the mind of the church, this altar is a holy mountain, which we can see by the prayers. The decreased says that that's of the altar which contained the phrases, the alternative God, Thy Holy Mountain, Night Tabernacle, and then the high mass. When the hot priest does go up to the Holy Mountain, just say Moses going up on Mount Sinai and just like the high priest going up to the holy of holies.
Speaker 1 22:57 I'm out Moriah, so I'll send, the priest is veiled by cloud of incense and justice. The sanctuary of Eden or the Campbell is the very threshold of heaven where man came into community with God. So Austin altered. It's the very threshold of heaven where the priest, by strict obedience to the liturgical rubrics not only visibly proclaims the holiness of God's name, but even brings God down into companion with man. Moses came down from the mountain with the word of God carved into stone tablets. The priest comes down from the holy mountain with the word of God made flesh. Remember how Mount Sinai was coated with cloud and smoking and flying with whirlwinds and thunder lightning and trumpet glass. If all that was going on, Moses received the law from God when God's word was written on stone tablets. Just imagine with the eyes of faith, what's going on on this here.
Speaker 1 23:54 When at the command of a priest, the word becomes really present body, blood, soul, and the vanity in the most plastic sacrament of the alter, and then just as Moses came down from the mountain to teach people the word of God just to St Peter came down from the upper room. I'm outside to teach people the word of God saw. So the priest comes down from the Holy Mountain and goes out to teach people where to God. He is the sword of the spirit. Just slice in and to glorify the name of the Lord and remember the degrees of holiness in terms of space as we've seen before, they're easy to see here. The church is a symbolic portrayal of creation. It's an architectural representation of reality. Tip Flat. There's three levels of reality. There's heaven, earth, and underworld. The sanctuary symbolically is heaven. The navy is symbolically earth.
Speaker 1 24:47 The vestibule is symbolically the underworld, okay? We can see in the right here physically displayed in the sanctuary we have Eden Sinai, the holy place. There's the holy of holies and symbolically heaven. Notice to even come up here during ceremonies we have to have on special clothing and act very specific, ritualistic ways because we're in the whole east place. And then of course the priest has had on even more specialized vestments, all of which have been consecrated specifically to be used in the worship of God, which has special prayers to be said for each and every article as he puts it on. And of course the priest has the most specifically ritualistic and complicated ways of acting. The priest actions up here remind us that there will always be a sort of balance that we have to keep in mind when we approach God. On the one hand, God loves each one of us with an incredible inexpressible, infinite love, a love, so personal and so caring that he's literally numbered each hair on our heads.
Speaker 1 25:53 That's on the one hand, we're called to this personal loving relationship with this living God. On the one hand, and we don't ever want to forget that, but on the other hand we also need to realize that God is all mine. He's infinitely powerful and he's here complete in an utter of Holy, Holy. Which means that as we approach him, we have to be evermore careful to watch her behavior and not cross over any boundaries. We have to be careful to watch her behavior and not cross boundaries. That's true for all of us. Those of us who work out here and all yell out there, I hope you young people are listening. It's fair to say that the liturgy forms directly our notion of the holiness of God or notion to the holiness of God is formed directly by liturgy. Look at shine. Look at the cavern apple.
Speaker 1 26:45 Look at the Campbell. If these things were so holy, think of how much holier are our sacred vessels which hold the precious blood of God himself. Think of how much holier our holy of holies, our tabernacles, which hold the true manna from heaven, which hold knocked the word of God carved in stone, but the word of God made flesh who is dwelling among us and who is the veil under the appearance of bread. And now because the new covenant, the priest can go behind the veil. He enter the holy of holies every day. He can give us the truth of the tree of life. He can't open the Ark, the Civil Orien, and because he can do that, we can receive that heavenly bread every day. Only now. It's not a shadow of good things to come. It's God himself and just look at how the men who were closest to God spend years seven in my case, going through a series of consecration being set ever farther apart from the rest of you giving up all kinds of natural goods in pursuit of holiness and all this is done precisely so that we can work up here safely so that we can safely take your please to God and bring his message to you so that we can act in the person of Christ and not be a scandal and a stumbling block to you.
Speaker 1 28:05 Always remember, a Catholic church is a holy place and everything about it has to speak and teach holiness. It's the house of God and the gate of Heaven. We started by asking how Pentecost reveals to us is the foundations of the Gospel or the sacred rights of the Old Testament. We've seen that and now we can understand what St Paul's referring to when he says to each of us Catholics, you've not come to mountain that might be touched, a blazing fire and darkness and glue and a tempest and the sound of a trumpet, a Shite so terrifying that Moses said, I tremble with fear. But you have come to Mount Sinai on until the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and into innumerable angels and festal gathering and to this assembly, the first born who are enrolled in heaven to a judge who's got a hall spirits suggesting manmade, perfect, and to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant. Therefore, let us be grateful, receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship with reverence and awe for our God is a consuming fire. Let us offer to God acceptable worship with reverence and awe for our cod is a consuming fire.
Speaker 2 29:32 God is a consuming fire.
Speaker 1 29:37 Saint Francis of Assisi said, Nan should tremble. The world should quake. All heaven should be deeply moved. When the son of God appears on the altar in the hands of the priests,
Speaker 2 29:54 prepare yourself.
