Imagery

Did you know that the quote, "The lion shall lie down with the lamb," is nowhere in Scripture? The original quote comes from Isaiah 11:6, which says, "The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them." Peace between natural enemies and a world where opposites live alongside one another; this is the vision of the passage. However, this is not nominal peace; that is, peace in name only; it is real peace where all things find the fullness of rest. This is the image depicting the age of the Messiah, the Lord's Anointed.

Often when we hear prophecies in the Bible, particularly the Old Testament, we think of future-telling. But this would be an extreme reduction of what prophecy is. When we hear prophecy, think prophets. And what is it that the prophets did? They warned. The prophets analyzed the current situation, looked back at what God said would happen if they broke the covenant, warned the people of the coming consequence if they didn't repent, and proclaimed the promises of God to His people. While future-telling may have played a small part in what prophets did, they did so much more that has to be understood to grasp what they are telling people. In other words, when Israel had an enemy knocking on their door threatening extermination, the prophet's message was pertinent to their issue. If someone came to Isaiah asking what the prophecy meant, his answer wouldn't be, "I don't know, the message was divinely given for Bob in 2025, who is reading this in his armchair, addressing the sociopolitical landscape of the 21st century." No, of course not, it was for the people to provide both warning and hope. In the book of Isaiah, Hezekiah is often considered to be the immediate hope for Israel that is spoken of, while it also points to a future, divine hope. Temporal hope participates in the ultimate hope, which is its beginning and end. The warning is apt, because history repeats itself, but the hope is eternal.

While the peace and harmony resonated with the people of Isaiah's day, it is rooted in the image of Creation in Genesis. We are told in Genesis 1:29-30 that God gave herbs and plants for the sustenance of men and beasts. This is where wolf shall dwell with lamb, and so on. It is sin that brings death. And springing forth from spiritual death, we see brother kill brother in Cain and Abel. We long for a return to paradise, where death is no more and we are free from sin. Where we can walk, once again, with God "in the cool of the day." A time when the harmony between creation reflects the relational harmony between man and God. This is testified to not just in Genesis 1-3, but as a theme throughout Scripture.

In Noah's Ark, we see a glimpse of the return to paradise. The purifying salvation of God is displayed as every animal resides together. Two of every kind, male and female, were brought into the ark, and there they remained until the ark was opened unto the new world. The story of Noah's Ark is about God's faithfulness to His people. The rainbow (same Hebrew word as archery bow) points upwards to symbolize that God will lay down His life to redeem creation. The peace that is witnessed on the boat reflects the garden, and it is tied to the work of God, bringing about this redemption. The Garden finds itself as the image of the hope to come.

The Garden imagery does not stop at the ark but continues to that of the temple. While we could spend some time here looking at the connections between the temple and the Garden of Eden (perhaps a later "Pondering"), it will suffice to name just a few similarities. Both places are where man meets God. Adam, functioning as High Priest, is given charge over the garden to cultivate/ serve and to keep/ guard. These same words are used to describe the job of the priest. Additionally, there appears to be a tripartite structure with God at the center (Holy of Holies), the rest of the garden (the holy place), and the outer world (outer courts). Again, much more could be said here at another time; however, the important aspect is that the temple was meant as a reflection of Eden.

The Garden of Eden's connection to both the ark and the temple comes together in the New Testament. In 1 Peter 3:20-21, we are told, "... in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water. The like figure whereunto even baptism doth also now save us ... by the resurrection of Jesus Christ." Peter's point is that as God brought Noah and his family through the waters in the ark of salvation, so the Church is the ark, and it is in baptism that we are joined to Christ and His body, and brought through the waters into salvation. There is also a connection here with Creation, with the Spirit hovering over the waters at creation, so the Spirit hovers over the baptismal waters (evident in the Easter Vigil when the priest blesses the font and breathes over the water; "spirit" being the same word as "breath" in Hebrew).  

This connection of the Church to the ark of salvation is where we get the term nave; think of the word navy or naval. The nave is where the people (you) sit. The narthex is the outer courts where those who were not allowed to witness the Mass (i.e., catechumens) would be. Once they were baptized, they would enter the nave through the waters of the baptismal font located between the narthex and nave as the entrance to the church. Again, we have the sanctuary [Holy of Holies (i.e., where the altar and reserved sacrament are)], the nave (the holy place), and the narthex (outer courts), a design which reflects both the Garden and the Temple. The nave, however, is the ark by which God brings us through the tempestuous waters of life. The church is a place that reflects the Garden and the fullness of our future hope, when the wolf shall lie down with the lamb. Those who come from all different walks of life, with different interests and different backgrounds, come together in the ark of salvation as they are joined to Christ. So, next time you hear or use the word "nave," remember the grace of God's salvation given in the church and the hope you and the person next to you have in Christ.

God's Peace,

Fr. Aaron