okay, still not reaching too far into other people's meta and discussion just yet. i'm sure it's fabulous and probably accurate because this 'verse and the intent with which it is being delivered, is phenomenally clear. YES.
here are my thoughts: i'm using the layout of the temple in jerusalem (http://www.custance.org/old/seed/fig21s.jpg) for this analogy because sanctimonious themes abound.
the courtyard: a wide and vast open space to hold and conduct the slaughter of animals in offering to god. wherein blood, intestines, fire and people gather and mingle. (sweetly sick and delicate. It's a tangle from which you can't get free; your mind is a maze) it's brutal and gritty but absolutely beautiful. (His hands are soft. His hands are strong.)
the holy: it is incense and incense only that burns here. flesh, blood (but only once a year) and grain offering are not permitted. ("It can't work like that," he says. "Not here.") here the priests conduct the ceremonies of a constantly burning incense. full of smoke and perfumed air that wafts up and out to serve as a visual reminder to the people of the need to atone for their sinful state. (He keeps at it though. He's patient like that.)
holy of holies: the inner most sanctum that only the high priest was allowed entrance to on the day of atonement. only after the priest was cleansed thoroughly was he given access. (the day that he rinses the blood until the water runs clear) here the utensils and sacrifices were sanctified through holy anointing oil in order to have the penance accepted by god. (then you begin to understand: It was never about him at all.)
this liturgy serves as an extension of the 'out to get you' portion. previously he could only bring her to the point of leveling out (courtyard), then all this ceremonial preparation and labour occurs in 'between shadow and soul' (holy) until she's allowed him in far enough that he can now participate in the complete process of restitution (holy of holies). here, now, the limit does not exist.
Re: Fic: my skin is not my own (rated PG-13 for implications of sexin')
here are my thoughts: i'm using the layout of the temple in jerusalem (http://www.custance.org/old/seed/fig21s.jpg) for this analogy because sanctimonious themes abound.
the courtyard: a wide and vast open space to hold and conduct the slaughter of animals in offering to god. wherein blood, intestines, fire and people gather and mingle. (sweetly sick and delicate. It's a tangle from which you can't get free; your mind is a maze) it's brutal and gritty but absolutely beautiful. (His hands are soft. His hands are strong.)
the holy: it is incense and incense only that burns here. flesh, blood (but only once a year) and grain offering are not permitted. ("It can't work like that," he says. "Not here.") here the priests conduct the ceremonies of a constantly burning incense. full of smoke and perfumed air that wafts up and out to serve as a visual reminder to the people of the need to atone for their sinful state. (He keeps at it though. He's patient like that.)
holy of holies: the inner most sanctum that only the high priest was allowed entrance to on the day of atonement. only after the priest was cleansed thoroughly was he given access. (the day that he rinses the blood until the water runs clear) here the utensils and sacrifices were sanctified through holy anointing oil in order to have the penance accepted by god. (then you begin to understand: It was never about him at all.)
this liturgy serves as an extension of the 'out to get you' portion. previously he could only bring her to the point of leveling out (courtyard), then all this ceremonial preparation and labour occurs in 'between shadow and soul' (holy) until she's allowed him in far enough that he can now participate in the complete process of restitution (holy of holies). here, now, the limit does not exist.