Destroy This Temple

                       The Dedication of the Lateran Basilica 

                   

 

       

It is unusual to have a feast day dedicated to a church building. In fact, there is only one such day in the Church calendar, and that is today’s feast of the Dedication of the Lateran Basilica. The Lateran Basilica is one of the most important churches in Christendom. Its original construction early in the third century after Christ marked the advent of toleration of Christianity in the pagan Roman Empire by the Emperor Constantine.

 

Constantine’s edict of toleration came right after one of the most large-scale and brutal persecutions of the Church by Constantine’s predecessor Diocletian. In that persecution practically every Christian church had been vandalized or destroyed. Constantine signaled a change of policy by granting land on Rome’s Lateran hill for the construction of a new church. From that time to today the Lateran Basilica has been the seat or cathedral of the Pope in his capacity as Bishop of Rome.

 

Despite the Lateran’s importance, the Church takes the opportunity in today’s readings to make an even more important point. In the first reading from the Prophet Ezekiel we see that a stream of water flows from the Temple, and that the water will irrigate or give life to the whole land. The Temple is the House of God, and the water is a symbol of the Spirit of God that gives life to us all. Some commentators even see the water as a symbol of the water that flowed from the side of Christ after He had been pierced by the centurion’s lance at the Crucifixion.

 

In today’s gospel we see that Jesus identifies himself with the Temple. It is that famous scene that takes place almost at the beginning of the gospel of John where Jesus drives the moneychangers and sellers of sacrificial animals out of the Temple. Jesus is shocked by the desecration of the Temple and in a rare display of anger; he literally drives the offenders out and tells then to take their animals with them.

 

Take these out of here,

And stop making my Father’s house a marketplace.

 

The onlookers take offense at his disruption of this business that everyone regarded as normal and traditional. They ask him for a sign that might explain or justify his seemingly rash action. Jesus usually ignores requests for miraculous signs but in this case, he gives a shocking and mysterious answer. 

 

Destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up.

 

He calls Himself a Temple, and even though the onlookers misunderstood, we understand that he was referring to his own death and resurrection. Like the Temple in the Prophet Ezekiel’s vision, Jesus will be the source of the living water that will irrigate the world. He will prove it by his Resurrection three days after he is put to death.

 

In today’s second reading from his first letter to the newly converted Christians in Corinth, St. Paul says something even more amazing. 

 

Brothers and sisters:

You are God’s building….

Do you not know that you are the temple of God,

And that the Spirit of God dwells in you?

If anyone destroys God’s temple,

God will destroy that person;

For the temple of God, which you are, is holy.

 

Jesus referred to Himself as a Temple, and St. Paul goes a step further and claims that the Christian community, no matter how big or small, is also a Temple in which the Spirit of God dwells. It is not so much the building or structure but the people who come together there to worship with Jesus that is the temple from which the living waters flow.

 

This concept was incredible and revolutionary in the time of Jesus and St. Paul, and is still revolutionary today. A building, no matter how magnificent or beautiful, is just an artifact or historical monument without a congregation of believers. Jesus did say, “where ever two or more of you are gathered together in my name, there I am among you.”

 

If we are the Temple of God, then we are also called to be the living waters that flow from the Temple. It is up to us in our own little way to renew the face of the earth.

###

 

Reading 1. Ezekiel 47: 1-2, 8-9, 12 

Reading II. 1 Corinthians 3: 9c-11, 16-17

Gospel. John 2: 13-22 (Cleansing of the Temple)

Commandments

                      3rd Sunday of Lent

                      B cycle

 

 

The Ten Commandments are the subject of today’s first reading from the Book of Exodus. Although we think of these commandments as relevant to all people at all times, they were given particularly to the Jewish people on their wandering in the desert after they had escaped from slavery in Egypt. We might want to think of the Commandments not as a spiritual guide but as a practical guide to survival during their journey. 

 

How could this people, made up of different families and tribes, survive during this time of adversity? It is clear that the first step would be to remember that they were all united in the service and worship of one God. Unlike the Egyptians and the other pagan peoples encountered on their journey, they would not have many gods, especially those obviously false gods made of wood or stone. 

 

Moreover, they would have to behave in a certain way to each other in order to survive. On their journey, they would have to set aside one day for rest, a rest that would be shared by all. No one, even their slaves and animals, could be required to work on the Sabbath. This is good practical advice which we would be well advised to follow today.

 

They would have to remember their obligation to their own parents. How can you have a working, well-functioning society if children don’t respect and honor their parents, or grown children do not care for their infirm parents? If this elemental bond is broken, what other bonds can remain? Moreover, they will have to respect their other tribesman. They must work together. How will they survive if they kill each other, fail to respect their marriage bonds, bring false charges against their fellow travelers, or desire what does not belong to them?

 

We know that many of them did not keep the commandments. Even their leaders often failed. King David coveted another man’s wife and connived to have her husband killed in battle. King Ahab coveted another man’s property and his wife, the notorious Queen Jezebel, showed him the way to get rid of the poor farmer. 

 

In the time of Jesus it was much the same. Today’s gospel account of the cleansing of the Temple illustrates the anger of Jesus at their failure to follow the commandments. He drove those who sold animals for sacrifice out of the Temple area because they had made the house of God into a marketplace. The buying and selling of animals had become like the worship of idols. 

 

The most significant part of this passage comes at the end. The evangelist tells us that many had come to believe in Jesus because of the signs he had worked but that Jesus knew they did not understand his message.

 

But Jesus would not trust himself to them because he knew them all,

And did not need anyone to testify about human nature.

He himself understood it well.

 

Sadly, he understood human nature. He knew that his contemporaries as well as the Jews from the time of Moses had often failed to live by the Commandments, and that human nature would make us all today likely to stumble and fall. In his letter to the new Christian community at Corinth, St. Paul had noticed that even these recent converts had trouble living in harmony with one another. 

 

Paul told them to concentrate on Jesus who died to redeem our fallen nature. Just like the Jews of old, we too demand signs or miraculous deeds. Just like the Greek philosophers of old, we look for wisdom or human reason to solve all our problems. Modern culture regards much of what Christians believe and do as superstitious, irrational, or unreasonable. 

 

Jesus expanded on the Commandments. He applied them not just to one tribe but to all people. He told us not just to love our neighbor but to share our love with strangers. He told us that not only was killing forbidden but that anger was just as bad as killing. He told us not only to avoid adultery but to not even think about it. The idols of the Greeks and Romans were nothing compared to the idols we have created. We worship athletes, entertainers, and celebrities. We even have a popular show called American Idol. 

 

Paul’s words to the Corinthians are as valid today as they were 2000 years ago.

 

For the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom,

And the weakness of God is stronger than human strength.

 

###

Reading 1. Exodus 20: 1-17

Reading II. 1 Corinthians 1: 22-25.

Gospel. John 2: 13-25 (cleansing the temple) 

Cleansing the Temple

                      3rd Sunday of Lent *

                     

 

The Ten Commandments are the subject of today’s first reading from the Book of Exodus. Although we think of these commandments as relevant to all people at all times, they were given particularly to the Jewish people on their wandering in the desert after they had escaped from slavery in Egypt. We might want to think of the Commandments not as a spiritual guide but as a practical guide to survival during their journey. 

 

How could this people, made up of different families and tribes, survive during this time of adversity? It is clear that the first step would be to remember that they were all united in the service and worship of one God. Unlike the Egyptians and the other pagan peoples encountered on their journey, they would not have many gods, especially those obviously false gods made of wood or stone. 

 

Moreover, they would have to behave in a certain way to each other in order to survive. On their journey, they would have to set aside one day for rest, a rest that would be shared by all. No one, even their slaves and animals, could be required to work on the Sabbath. This is good practical advice which we would be well advised to follow today.

 

They would have to remember their obligation to their own parents. How can you have a working, well-functioning society if children don’t respect and honor their parents, or grown children do not care for their infirm parents? If this elemental bond is broken, what other bonds can remain? Moreover, they will have to respect their other tribesman. They must work together. How will they survive if they kill each other, fail to respect their marriage bonds, bring false charges against their fellow travelers, or desire what does not belong to them?

 

We know that many of them did not keep the commandments. Even their leaders often failed. King David coveted another man’s wife and connived to have her husband killed in battle. King Ahab coveted another man’s property and his wife, the notorious Queen Jezebel, showed him the way to get rid of the poor farmer. 

 

In the time of Jesus it was much the same. Today’s gospel account of the cleansing of the Temple illustrates the anger of Jesus at their failure to follow the commandments. He drove those who sold animals for sacrifice out of the Temple area because they had made the house of God into a marketplace. The buying and selling of animals had become like the worship of idols. 

 

The most significant part of this passage comes at the end. The evangelist tells us that many had come to believe in Jesus because of the signs he had worked but that Jesus knew they did not understand his message.

 

But Jesus would not trust himself to them because he knew them all,

And did not need anyone to testify about human nature.

He himself understood it well.

 

Sadly, he understood human nature. He knew that his contemporaries as well as the Jews from the time of Moses had often failed to live by the Commandments, and that human nature would make us all today likely to stumble and fall. In his letter to the new Christian community at Corinth, St. Paul had noticed that even these recent converts had trouble living in harmony with one another. 

 

Paul told them to concentrate on Jesus who died to redeem our fallen nature. Just like the Jews of old, we too demand signs or miraculous deeds. Just like the Greek philosophers of old, we look for wisdom or human reason to solve all our problems. Modern culture regards much of what Christians believe and do as superstitious, irrational, or unreasonable. 

 

Jesus expanded on the Commandments. He applied them not just to one tribe but to all people. He told us not just to love our neighbor but to share our love with strangers. He told us that not only was killing forbidden but that anger was just as bad as killing. He told us not only to avoid adultery but to not even think about it. The idols of the Greeks and Romans were nothing compared to the idols we have created. We worship athletes, entertainers, and celebrities. We even have a popular show called American Idol. 

 

Paul’s words to the Corinthians are as valid today as they were 2000 years ago.

 

For the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom,

And the weakness of God is stronger than human strength.

 

###

* The above reflection is based on the B cycle readings. Sometimes, they can be supplanted by the A cycle readings. Click on this link for a post on the A cycle readings.

 

Reading 1. Exodus 20: 1-17

Reading II. 1 Corinthians 1: 22-25.

Gospel. John 2: 13-25 (cleansing the temple)

Cleansing of the Temple

                                    The Dedication of the Lateran Basilica

                                   

Giotto: Cleansing of the Temple

           

It is unusual to have a feast day dedicated to a church building. In fact, there is only one such day in the Church calendar, and that is today’s feast of the Dedication of the Lateran Basilica. The Lateran Basilica is one of the most important churches in Christendom. Its original construction early in the third century after Christ marked the advent of the toleration of Christianity in the pagan Roman Empire by the Emperor Constantine.

Constantine’s edict of toleration came right after one of the most large scale and brutal persecutions of the Church by Constantine’s predecessor Diocletian. In that persecution practically every Christian church had been vandalized or destroyed. Constantine signaled a change of policy by granting land on Rome’s Lateran hill for the construction of a new church. From that time to today the Lateran Basilica has been the seat or cathedral of the Pope in his capacity as Bishop of Rome.

Despite its importance, the Church takes the opportunity in today’s readings to make an even more important point. In the first reading from the Prophet Ezekiel we see that a stream of water flows from the Temple, and that the water will irrigate or give life to the whole land. The Temple is the House of God, and the water is a symbol of the Spirit of God that gives life to us all. Some commentators even see the water as a symbol of the water that flowed from the side of Christ after He had been pierced by the centurion’s lance at the Crucifixion.

In today’s gospel we see that Jesus identifies himself with the Temple. It is that famous scene that takes place almost at the beginning of the gospel of John where Jesus drives the moneychangers and sellers of sacrificial animals out of the Temple. Jesus is shocked by the desecration of the Temple and in a rare display of anger; he literally drives the offenders out, and tells then to take their animals with them.

Take these out of here,

And stop making my Father’s house a marketplace.

The onlookers take offense at his disruption of this business that everyone regarded as normal and traditional. They ask him for a sign that might explain or justify his seemingly rash action. Jesus usually ignores requests for miraculous signs but in this case he gives a shocking and mysterious answer.

Destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up.

He calls Himself a Temple, and even though the onlookers misunderstood, we understand that he was referring to his own death and resurrection. Like the Temple in the Prophet Ezekiel’s vision, Jesus will be the source of the living water that will irrigate the world. He will prove it by his Resurrection three days after he is put to death.

In today’s second reading from his first letter to the newly converted Christians in Corinth, St. Paul says something even more amazing.

Brothers and sisters:You are God’s building….Do you not know that you are the temple of God,And that the Spirit of God dwells in you?If anyone destroys god’s temple,God will destroy that person;For the temple of God, which you are, is holy.

Jesus referred to Himself as a Temple, and St. Paul goes a step further and claims that the Christian community, no matter how big or small, is also a Temple in which the Spirit of God dwells. It is not so much the building or structure but the people who come together there to worship with Jesus. We are the temple from which the living waters flow.

This concept was incredible and revolutionary in the time of Jesus and St. Paul, and is still revolutionary today. A building, no matter how magnificent or beautiful, is just an artifact or historical monument without a congregation of believers. Jesus did say, “where ever two or more of you are gathered together in my name, there I am among you.”

If we are the Temple of God, then we are also called to be the living waters that flow from the Temple. It is up to us in our own little way to renew the face of the earth.

###

Reading 1. Ezekiel 47: 1-2, 8-9, 12

Reading II. 1 Corinthians 3: 9c-11, 16-17

Gospel. John 2: 13-22 (Cleansing of the Temple)