Weekly Manna

There are numerous wonderful fair opportunities at St Thomas Law, and Weekly Manna is one of my favorites.  Every Wednesday, from 12:00 to 12:30 on the third floor, a group of students, faculty and staff gathers to listen to a speaker, eat lunch, and pray together.  Manna is a unique faith experience--it's been described as "Sunday school for adults!"
Last week at Manna, Chato, who is the organizational force behind Manna, gave a talk meditating on one passage in the Easter story: "And the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom," Mark 15:38.  Chato talked about the book of Ezekiel, and how that book describes the myriad rules for worship, including allowing only a select group of people inside the temple, beyond the "temple veil".  Chato contrasted this with Jesus's words to the criminal on the cross--Jesus promised the penitent thief that he would be with Jesus in Paradise.  Jesus, by his words, eliminates the distinction between the elite who get to worship inside the innermost area of the temple, and the repentant criminal beside him.  No longer are we separated from God by intermediaries or barriers--when Jesus was crucified, the curtain of the temple was torn, and we were given direct access to God.  Chato rightly pointed out that this is really something to get excited about--we can go to God any time, without a mediator or a barrier, and God will hear us.  Jesus has torn the temple veil.
If you have never gone, I highly recommend attending Manna at least once.  Please join us!