Margaret Barker wrote: Inseparable from the veil were the vestments of the high priest…. Veil and vestments were complementary imagery…. The veil and the priestly vestments provided the first Christians with ready imagery to convey what they meant by the incarnation. In other words, the veil was a symbol for the flesh of Christ—God incarnate. That seems significant in light of the following. Blake Ostler wrote: It should be noted that the ancient garment bore the same tokens as the veil of the temple at Jerusalem…. Many ancient texts confuse the garment with the veil of the temple, such as Ambrose of Milanos Tractate of the Mysteries or the Hebrew Book of Enoch where the ‘garment’ and ‘veil’ are used interchangeably. Similarly, Hugh Nibley pointed out that the garment and the veil of the temple bear the same markings and have the same cosmic significance. Thus, to be wrapped in the veil was to be clothed in Christ. To engage in the ritual embrace was to embrace not only the Father, but to be encircled in the arms of the Son. We read: In the [Egyptian] coronation embrace, ‘the god has stretched forth his hands out through [a sort of] sheath (or covering) and clasps the king against his breast.’ Elsewhere we are informed: The veil of the temple is the robe of the angel or the divine. Thus, the veil is a very tangible symbol for Christs presence in the temple, and in the life of the initiate. From _Sacred Symbols: Finding Meaning in Rites, Rituals and Ordinances_
Posted on: Mon, 06 Oct 2014 03:08:09 +0000
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