Thoughts on the Divine Service
36. Floor Plan
Dear friends,
How about that floor plan?
Good Shepherd’s layout is a traditional and practical design for a worship space. The entirety of the room is called the “sanctuary,” and it’s divided into two parts: the “nave,” where the pews are located, and the “chancel,” where—in the words of one young member—“the pastor does stuff.” It’s well known that the floor plans of cathedrals are usually cruciform (looking down from above, a cathedral is shaped like a cross); and at Good Shepherd, one can sort of see a cross formed by the center aisle and the space between the forward exit doors. Otherwise, our design seems more practical than anything. Does our worship space have something to teach?
It does. For starters, we can note that “nave” is from the Latin word “navus,” meaning “boat” (think “navy”). The people in the pews are the people in the boat, but not just any boat: the nave is a reminder of Noah’s ark. As the rest of the world perished in the flood because of sin, Noah and his family were safe in the ark until the Lord delivered them to a revived creation. As our present world continues to fall apart due to sin’s curse, the Church is the ark where we find life until we are delivered to the kingdom of heaven on the Last Day.
“Chancel” doesn’t have quite as comforting a meaning: it’s from the Latin word “cancelli,” meaning “bars” or “lattice.” In medieval church architecture, the chancel was separated from the nave by latticework, an architectural announcement that the altar was highly restricted space for clergy only. The division between nave and chancel goes back much farther than the lattice work of the Middle Ages, though, and there’s some good stuff to glean from the design.
The first church building wasn’t a building at all: it was a tent, the tabernacle that God commanded in Exodus 26, built for portability as Israel moved through the wilderness. The tent had two rooms, separated by a thick curtain: the larger was “the Holy Place,” where the priests went about their work, and the smaller was “the Most Holy Place” or “Holy of Holies.” It was in this latter, inner sanctum that God dwelt with His people: when the tabernacle was first consecrated, the Lord descended in a cloud of glory and entered the tabernacle (Ex. 40:34), settling in the Most Holy Place (thus “most holy”!). Because of sin, no one could enter the Most Holy Place and live, because Holy God was present there.
There was one exception: on one day each year, one man—the high priest—could enter the Most Holy Place, but only after extensive preparations (Lev. 16). Outside the tabernacle was a large basin of water called “the Sea,” and the high priest would wash himself before putting on his priestly garments. He would then offer sacrifices on the altar in the tabernacle’s courtyard; and, collecting the blood, he would then make his way into the Most Holy Place. He was safe to come into the presence of God because, per God’s command, a sacrifice had been made and the blood was the proof. When he presented that blood to the Lord, the Lord declared that His people were forgiven because the sacrifice had been made. The people waiting outside would know this because the high priest would emerge from the tabernacle (alive!) and tell them that the Lord forgave their sins. They waited in suspense: if the high priest made a mistake, the Lord would strike him dead. Rabbinic literature tells us that he had a scarlet cord tied around his ankle that trailed under the veil into the Holy Place: that way, if God struck him down, his body could be recovered.
This was the Day of Atonement, and it pointed to Jesus, our High Priest, who sacrificed Himself for our sin and presented Himself to His Father in the Most Holy Place of heaven (Heb. 6:19-20; 10:19-22).
What does that have to do with the floor plan at Good Shepherd?
Think of the nave and chancel as the Holy Place and the Most Holy Place, respectively: after all, “sanctuary” means “holy place.” The Holy Place is where priests go about their work: that’s not the pastor, but all the people of God. You are a royal priesthood (1 Peter 2:9, cf. Ex. 19:6), and what do priests do? They offer sacrifices; but since Jesus has already made the Sacrifice for sin once for all, there’s no need for us to sacrifice animals just outside the sanctuary. (Phew!) There remains, however, a sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving: in the Holy Place of the nave, the priesthood of believers offers their praises to God in prayers, creeds and songs. Then they emerge from the sanctuary (alive!) to tell people outside that, in Christ, they are forgiven for their sins, too. Thus the nave is akin to the Holy Place where the priests are glorifying God.
The chancel is akin to the Most Holy Place because that is where God dwells with His people: not in a pillar of cloud and fire, but in bread and wine. The incarnate Jesus, present with His body and blood in His Supper, is the same Lord who dwelt in the Old Testament tabernacle for the good of His people.
So far, so good? Now, who gets to enter the Most Holy Place?
The answer is not the pastor, even though he’s the one “doing stuff” as the called and ordained servant of God. Priests enter the Most Holy Place. Except now it’s not the high priest, but the royal priesthood. As the priests of God today, you get to do each week what only the high priest could do only once a year!
Remember the Day of Atonement—how the priest would start outside, wash with water in the Sea and then put on his priestly garments? As priests of God, you were washed by water and the Word in Holy Baptism, and so you have been clothed with Christ (Gal. 3:27). There’s no need for you to sacrifice an ox next, because in baptism Christ shares His sacrifice with you.
Once he was washed and the sacrifice was made, the high priest would enter the tabernacle, walking through the Holy Place and into the Most Holy Place. This is the journey of the royal priesthood in the Divine Service: washed in Holy Baptism, you enter the Holy Place where you hear God’s Word and respond with praise. During the Lord’s Supper, you come forward into the Most Holy Place, where the Lord is present in the Sacrament, to receive His body and blood for the forgiveness of your sins.
Every Divine Service is a Day of Atonement for you.
Our sanctuary may resemble the auditorium and stage of a theater, but its purpose is not for drama or entertainment. Far better, the design hints of the tabernacle and Solomon’s temple, that you might remember that you are among the royal priesthood, washed clean in Holy Baptism, entering into the Lord’s presence to receive His gifts of grace and life. To you each week is given an honor that was once reserved for one man, once a year, which ought fill our hearts with penitent gratitude all the more. Christ is present to make you holy. What joy!
Nerdy notes: