The Blessed Virgin Mary: THE PERFECT TABERNACLE OF THE MOST HIGH
Christ’s Mother Chosen to be the New Tabernacle
What would you consider the most precious thing on this earth? Jewels and precious metal that are formed in the earth quickly come to mind. Maybe for this topic, I will be talking about the Most important human being on the face of this earth, second only to Our King Jesus, who is God made man. We could ask why the Blessed Virgin Mary so important? Some would think, that she was just a “tool” that God used to accomplish his mission on earth to save humanity. But I will guide you through scripture and point out how precious this “woman clothed in the sun”[1] is the most instrumental piece that God himself could have created.
The Holy Bible, which most Christians consider to be the Living Word, is set up to be read and understood from beginning to end. As a Student, I never realized that the Holy Spirit directed the writing of scripture to “come together” and show the connection between the Old Testament and the New Testament. The Holy Spirit guided my eyes and my hands to be able to paint this wonderful picture together. We will look at an excerpt from the Old Testament from the reading of Psalms Chapter 45. “The Daughter of the King is decked in chambers with gold -woven robes; in many-colored robes she is lead to the King, with her virgin companions, her escort in her train”[2] (Ignatius Press & Midwest Theological Forum, 2014) Who is this daughter and what King are they talking about? I believe the Holy Spirit was telling David about a Future King who would follow him and be above him. The descriptive portion of this Psalms shows that a future woman, who would be chosen among the members of the tribes of Israel would be a queen to come. Every role that a King has had during the time of Israel, was followed, if not helped from a mother. The role of a woman is very important here. Remember when God created man and woman in his image, the Father made it this way to show us how important a male and female are in his work.[3]
When you read the following passage from Exodus, you see how powerful the presence of God is around the People of Israel. “And Moses was not able to enter the tent of meeting, because the Cloud abode upon it, and the Glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle.[4] Imagine this in your mind for a second my brothers and sisters. A simple tent (which was probably made of rubber material and held together by some tent poles) on a sandy surface was held the most sacred to the Jews. It contained the tablets of the Ten Commandments and the Ark of the Covenant. God himself, with his own fingers, wrote the tablets out of stone. He instructed Moses and Aaron his brother on how to construct the Ark. When I am who I am (God told Moses his name)[5] spoke, his presence was enough to shake Mt. Sinai so everyone knew he was there. No living being was pure enough to be able to spend time before God. During the time of the Old Testament, you read about angels appearing before men and they are frightened with fear and fall to the ground. I cannot fathom in my imagination how powerful the presence of God is. Our first parents were walking with God in the garden of Eden until the fall. God already knew how he was going to save us from the grips of our fallen nature and bring us back to fullness with him.
I have mentioned so far about Psalms 45 and Exodus 40, where there is a foreshadowing of a Queen and a place where the Presence of God is to be placed. We will now investigate the Catechism of the Catholic Church to glue the pieces together, and how it ties into the new Testament. “The annunciation to Mary inaugurates the “Fullness of time”. The time of the fulfillment of God’s promise and preparation. Mary was invited to conceive him in whom the “whole fullness of deity” would dwell bodily”.[6] This paragraph from the catechism is linked to the Gospel of Luke Chapter 1:35 “And the Angel said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called Holy, the Son of God”. The Fullness of Time means that since for God there is no beginning, middle or end, he was able to bring the promise that he spoke in the garden when our first parents fell.[7] From The fall until the time of Jesus’s Birth, God was showing humanity, little by little on the restoration of his graces to the people of the earth. I remember as a child watching a scene from the Iron man cartoon, where in the opening song before the episode started, you can see Tony Stark using a Hammer and beating the metal to form the armor that he will use to fight the forces of evil. God, who is the Master-builder, created the Blessed Virgin Mary. Think about this, who better to create a perfect dwelling place than the Creator himself! Luke is already telling us that the Conception of the child in her womb is from God. The key words Key words you see here is Most High-God the Father, The Son of God-Jesus, The Holy Spirit-Himself from Luke’s account of the Message from the Archangel Gabriel.
Paragraph 486 from the Catechism tells us that Jesus was conceived as a man in the womb of a virgin, anointed by the Holy Spirit from the beginning of human existence.[8] The angel appeared to him in a dream, “Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit” Yes Jesus was not part of Joseph DNA, but because of the right of being an earthly father, Jesus fulfills the passage of God because he is from the Line of King David through the marriage of Mary and Joseph. “The mission of the Holy Spirit is always conjoined and ordered to that of the Son.”[9] While it’s very difficult to understand the full meaning of the Holy Trinity, God himself, who created this plan, knew what steps he was going to take and how it was to lay out before our eyes. Thus, the Blessed Virgin Mary is now “completed” The Holy Trinity already said she was going to crush the head of the serpent. (Genesis 3:15) Looking at all the paintings (according to The Book of Revelation) that you see of her she is clothed in Fine robes and has a Crown upon her head. “She is the Masterwork of God in the Fullness of time”[10] The only thing that is missing is Jesus going into the New Ark.
I will try to make the connection with a reading from the Gospel of Matthew 2: 10-12 “When they saw the Star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy; and going into the house they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and worshipped him. Then, opening their treasure, they offered him gifts, gold, frankincense and myrrh.” Once the Holy Mother of God, of her own free will, accepted the message of the Archangel Gabriel, The Holy Spirit overshadowed her. The Presence of Christ, through the power of the Holy Spirit was able to be placed in this new tabernacle. Jesus has been conceived. The Catholic church recognized that we honored his birthday on December 25th, but we have no historical evidence that it was that exacted date. Jesus Christ, the Word made flesh was born and became a universal celebration. God in his infinite wisdom chose a stable in Bethlehem to be the “New Tent”. But unlike Moses and the others who were not permitted to be in the same place as they Lord, I believe the mercy of God allowed us sinners to come before him in his presence. I believed he shared himself to the Shepherds in the field and Three Kings who came to pay him homage. The New King that was talked about in Psalms 45 with his new Queen Mother was present together for the world to see. The New Ark was visible and for the 1st time in human history, Jesus who is the law of God himself, was present for all to know him. This gift was fitting of a New King and a New Queen Mother. This is the beginning of his Salvation plan. God opened his treasure chest and revealed his mighty works.
I feel blessed to share this wonderful message of personal discovery with my readers. I hope that I was able to present a picture of the Love of God to you all. Truly, God is the potter and just as he made and created us, he fashioned the Blessed Virgin Mary, one who is without sin, to be able to hold God himself in her physical body. He fashioned her in a way that was fitting for a King, thus preparing her along the way in life to accept the message of his Angel. She accepted the message and Jesus was placed. Praise be to God that his message of salvation was fulfilled. I close with this prayer.
Heavenly Father, you who made the world, we thank you that you loved us so much that even when our first parents failed (Adam and Eve), you were not going to let us be under the grips of Satan. We give glory to you for forming the Blessed Virgin Mary. We Thank you Lord for the fulfillment of your promise. We give thanks that you allowed humanity to come before you in the new tent and offer praise and worship to you. May the Holy Spirit continue to work in us today and give us the fire to seek your holy knowledge of love and peace. We ask this in the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, Amen!
Be Blessed always,
Aaron J
References
Burnham, J. (2004). The Bible Thumper. Washington D.C: Ascension Press.
Ignatius Press & Midwest Theological Forum, I. (2014). The Didache Bible with commentaries based on the Catechism of the Catholic Church. San Francisco: Rev. James Socias.
Ratzinger, C. J. (2016). Catechism of the Catholic Church 2nd edition. Vatican City: Libreria Editrice Vaticana.
[1] Revelation 12:1
[2] Psalms 45:14
[3] Genesis 1:26-29
[4] Exodus 40:35
[5] Exodus 3:14
[6] CCC 484
[7] Genesis 3:14-15
[8] CCC 486, 437
[9] CCC 485
[10] CCC 721
Lost Sheep for Christ 