“Then behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom” (Matthew 27:52)
The real God of Israel was revealed the moment Jesus expired on the cross. While those who had their way, accomplishing their task to punish our Lord Jesus for the audacity of defying their rejection of His messiahship, hurling at Him the false accusation that He had claimed to destroy and rebuild the temple in three days, the temple veil was torn in two. The holy of holies was exposed, because the chosen people were incapable of recognizing Jesus Christ as the long-awaited Messiah; therefore, at the moment of His death on the cross, the heavenly Father sent a sign that the greatest of all mysteries, the presence of His only-begotten Son fulfilled His mission on earth even if those who had been nurtured to realize and respond to Him lost their moment in history for which they had been prepared from the time of Abraham. Since the greatest of all mysteries, the birth, growth, ministry and revelation of God Himself in the presence of His Son was not only not recognized but also indeed rejected and manipulated into being crucified, the mysteries of the temple were transcended and made superfluous. The splitting of the temple veil is a sign of that reality.
Those who demanded from Pilate that He be crucified as a false Messiah were made to realize they were tragically wrong. Jesus was shown to be the genuine Messiah in the holiest site of all Jerusalem. To comprehend the meaning of that revelation requires the understanding of what a veil signifies.
A. The first and most obvious meaning is separation. The chasm dividing God from humanity—nothing greater can be conceived. Only the high priest was entitled to pass beyond the veil shutting off the outside world from the holy of holies, the sacred cube of space containing the Ark of the Covenant. And only that chosen person was permitted once a year on the holiest of days, only if he understood his purpose of being there, only if he wore a rope tied to his leg and bells on his vestments that would ring while he was moving about performing his assigned tasks. If the bells stopped ringing, those outside could pull him out without entering the sacred space themselves.
B. It meant purity. Let the young women and girls consider that when they enter the church in a bridal gown with a veil covering their faces, they are affirming the purity of themselves on their wedding day. To wear the veil is to proclaim that the face behind the veil is innocent, pure, and virginal. “Do you not know that you are a temple of the Holy Spirit?” wrote St. Paul. You are to be offered for the first time to the man chosen to be your one and only husband. Even in these so-called sexually liberated times you should recognize the truth behind the wearing of the wedding veil as not a mere symbol but a reality. Before, during and after your marriage you are and remain holy to the Lord, respectful of your bodies, minds and souls, precious in the sight of God.
C. The veil in the icon screen closing off the sanctuary from the nave has meaning. When closed, it is a reminder of the holiness of the temple of Jerusalem, and when opened is the evidence that Christ is the Source of all holiness, being Himself the Son of God. When we hear the announcement: Holy Things are for the Holy, we feel the joy of being included among the holy ones, welcomed to the invitation to the blessed banquet offered to those who love and fear the Lord. The curtain is shut so that it will be opened to the friends, sisters and brother of Christ Jesus.