Image of a ship's anchor on the sea floor

Day

41

The Man Behind the Curtain

Lent 2019

We have this as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul, a hope that enters into the inner place behind the curtain.

Hebrews 6:19

The Wizard of Oz has always been a favorite movie of mine. The singing, the story, the characters, and the use of new technology are all things that resonate with me. One of the iconic charterers in the film is the Wizard himself, the Man Behind the Curtain. Dorothy was in need of a champion, someone who had the power to help her get to her home. Toto pulls back the curtain revealing the Wizard to be a fraud, all smoke and mirrors and no real power.

Our theme verse makes me think of the Wizard. Hebrews 6:19 talks about a hope that enters into the inner place behind the curtain. It is a curtain that the writer of Hebrews talks about later. Hebrews 9:1-9 tells us that in the temple a curtain separated the Holy of Holies—the place where God promised to come and bless his people—from the rest of the temple where men were. This signified that man was separated from God by sin.

Behind the curtain, is a place we long to be, but we are not able to get there. We are told in Matthew 27 that at the moment Jesus died the curtain in the Temple was torn from top to bottom. The barrier between man and God was removed. Unlike the Wizard, Jesus is more than smoke and mirrors. Through his sacrifice on the cross he opened the way for us to get to our heavenly home and blesses us until we get there. And our theme verse tells us that he does so much more than that.

But it is so much more than just Good Friday. There is Easter and beyond. Jesus came to earth and lived, and loved, and died, and rose, and he also ascended into heaven, that place behind the curtain. He went there to prepare a place for us and to be our advocate. This is the anchor of hope that Hebrews talks about. A lifeline that connects us to Jesus, behind the curtain. Beyond the issues we face today and into an eternal life with him.

Rev. Bil Hood
Director of Church and Community Relations, CUI

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