Article June 16, 2008 Issue

A REVELATION AT THE METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART

BY CHRISTINE IRBY WILLIAMS

WHILE IN THE THROES of making a decision about my future employment, I spent many days mentally on my knees asking God for an answer. One day, a friend and I visited the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. We found ourselves standing at the ancient Egyptian Temple of Dendur, which was given to the United States by the Egyptian government and has been on display here since 1978.

As we walked up to the temple, I was thinking about the portable "tabernacle in the wilderness" that accompanied the children of Israel after their exodus from Egypt. After receiving the Ten Commandments on Mt. Sinai, Moses was directed to have the children of Israel build this tabernacle, or "tent of meeting," which is where God was seen to dwell in the midst of the people. And it became the model for the Hebrew temples which Solomon, then Zerubbabel, and finally Herod built in Jerusalem.

The heart of the tabernacle was the Most Holy Place, located directly under the Shekinah, or what was considered the visible manifestation of God's presence. Once a year, on the Day of Atonement, the High Priest entered into the outer court, then through the Holy Place, and on into the Most Holy Place. He passed through a series of "stations" as he made atonement for the people. These stations have often reminded me of what it takes to glimpse our oneness with God even today.