Thru The Veil
- Fiona Parker
- Apr 26
- 5 min read
Updated: Jul 3
Brought to you by Believe in Hull in collaboration with Murmuration and co-creators.
The Premise....
We will pass through as the temple curtain is torn in two, as God is kind of liberated from the temple, as grace is made available to all. And we will create that river of grace described in Ezekiel 47 which flows wider and deeper from the heart of Father, Risen Son and Holy Spirit, bringing life in all its fullness... and we will share that fullness, that connectedness, that freedom with God and each other….Nobody will make you do anything, but as we watch beauty unfurl and experience the bible story for real (arts and drama); and as we sing and move and eat together.... we'll be part of the kingdom of heaven coming in Hull.
THRU THE VEIL (full script)
THE VEIL
Friday. The first day. The Temple of Jerusalem.
The Guard:
So many gathered. Some to pilgrimage, some to pray. Others to satisfy a curiosity or question. Some simply to gawp and gossip – to say “I was there.”
You are, of course, all welcome this far. The Temple’s outer courts are for everyone.
This far, but no further.
The veil must stay closed. The place beyond, the Holy of Holies is only for the most trained, the most sanctified –only the High Priest himself can go through the veil - and then only once a year, and even then only as a place of confession, to plead on our behalf.
The veil is our protection. God’s presence is too powerful and our sins are too many.
This far, but no further
THE DEATH
And so it was on Friday. The first day.
Outside the city walls, beyond our understanding.
Jesus was being led to his death. God on the cross
We were swept up in the crowd, the noise, the passions of anger, fear … love.
And as he hung, and as life drained away over those three hours,
The earth went dark , as though the whole earth was sad.
And then we heard
Words that would resonate through history and echo in our hearts, time and time again:
“Forgive them
You will be with me
Why am I forsaken?
I thirst
It is finished!
Father, into your hands….”
And Jesus died.
THE TEARING
The veil tears from top to bottom
The guard:
And the earth quaked.
It was as though his last breath ripped through the world we knew
Where God and humans were kept apart.
Where everyone knew their place and stayed there
Where sins needed atonement, where rules should be followed, where death was the end.
This far and no further…. Was finished!!!
THE LIMINALITY
All pass through torn veil to the altar
‘We have confidence and freedom to enter the Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, by this new and living way which He opened for us through the torn veil, that is, through His torn flesh’ Hebrews 10 vs19-20
It was Saturday. The second day.
The veil is torn, the world has changed
Forever.
We stand in that knowledge
This far …. But no further
He is still dead.
We have seen the power and heard the love
And our hearts are stirring with the whispers of eternity …
And yet,
We are curious and we are confused.
We are hopeful yet still hurting.
We have more questions than answers.
We know our lives, the whole world, has changed
But we don’t yet know how.
We are this far… but no further
THE WAITING
A Prayer:
We live between two worlds
Waiting in the here and now
The pain of betrayal,
the crushing darkness of the garden,
expectancy of worse to come
bleeds out in anxiety.
The joy of the new day,
The sun rise, birth,
The victory of hope secured.
The pain of injustice,
Victim blaming. Scapegoating.
Being abandoned and rejected,
Mocked, naked
Left as the nameless outsider.
The joy of justice, peace,
Being built up, freed,
Exonerated, and wrapped up
In the new home of love
The pain of the body,
The weakness, frustration,
Struggling for breath
Beating, torture, nails, thorns.
The joy of healing,
Growth and strength,
Of new air in a new world
That has begun by his faithfulness
We wait.
Between and with both worlds
The new has begun, the old has not passed away... yet.
And we pray.
For those in darkness and crushing: light and hope
For those oppressed: freedom and love
For those in suffering: healing, enfolding in the faithful arms of Jesus.
And in the waiting Lord
Be with us
That we might breathe, our hearts beat, our feet walk, amen.
Grace and Peace
Rev Aian Macpherson
THE RESURRECTION
It was Sunday.
The third day
Risen Christ,
Our hearts and hopes begin to rise with the dawn
We hear rumours of Heaven breaking bounds
Of empty graves and fulfilled promises
We run towards the light with the recklessness of those who now know
This far.. and even further
This far, this far and EVER further
Will God move to meet us
This far and further wide His arms to gather us each to Him
This far and always further
His love, his dreams for us
This far and further, further still
His love, His life in us.
THE RIVER
Love wins, we're allowed in, Jesus is alive, we are called friends.
But this is not salvation. It is not yet the fullness of life. It is not the freedom to grow up and become like Jesus. It’s not wild swimming.
God wants out; want us out…… want us in the river of life. God wants us in the living waters that flow from his very heart…. out into and through the whole wide world.
Ezekiel’s vision of a river of life unfurls down from the altar, down the aisle.
Father, Son, Holy Spirit - they want you in the flow. Out of the disconnect with themselves, out of grief and regret, out of damage, out of the lifeboats we keep ourselves fearful and safe in.
Roll out river through the torn veil.
Out thru the veil…. It’s just the beginning. Go… go… go with the flow. There’s more to life in the flow, in the living water, teaming with beauty, freedom; the fullness of life.
See the beauty of it…. this river of life. See those beautiful colours, see those wonderful swimming creations. See the tumbling unruly vibrant but always beautiful, always outwards, always reviving and renewing… always spreading out, always bringing life, freedom, always overflowing.
THE FILLING
Joyful telling of EZEKIEL’S vision
ACTIVITIES, PICNIC & SONGS
THE SENDING
“Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me……rivers of living water will flow from within them” John 7 v38
THIS FAR AND EVER FURTHER!!
Words by Cathy Westby Andy Dorton and Aian Macpherson
And finally.... A collaborative poem made as people picnicked by the river. In response to two questions: What makes you afraid of going into the river and what makes you excited?
