You are God’s building
“What sign can you show us for doing this?”
INTRO: When asked, “What sign can you show us for doing this?” he answered, “Destroy this temple and I will rebuild it in three days.” Continuing later, “But he was speaking about the temple of his Body. Therefore, when he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this …”
Feast of the Dedication of the Lateran Basilica in Rome
Ezekiel 47:1-2, 8-9, 12
1 Corinthians 3:9c-11, 16-17
John 2:13-22
Before I begin my reflection, let me address an issue, although not religious, that some of you may be dealing with—how to relieve the stress from the recent elections on November 5th. During this, as well as other political contests of the past, the media has regularly promoted stories to create hatred between people with opposing viewpoints. This has resulted in leaving many in a state of extreme emotional stress. That’s not healthy. Many wonder what they can truly believe in. Maybe you are one of them. You ask, “How can I relieve myself of this hate? Who or what can I really rely upon? Is there a constant, calming generating force in my life?”
Image by Imtiyaz Quraishi
Yes, there is … God. As the psalm (Psalm 46; 2-3) for Saturday’s reading of November 9th says, “God is our refuge and our strength, an ever-present help in distress. Therefore, we fear not, though the earth be shaken and mountains plunge into the depths of the sea.”
Saturday also commemorates the dedication of the Lateran Basilica in Rome. Commissioned by Emperor Constantine after the Edict of Milan in 318, it is the oldest basilica of the Catholic Church. It was dedicated to St. John the Baptist in the 9th century and to St. John the Evangelist in the 12th.
The first of Saturday’s readings is from the 47th chapter of Ezechiel. It presents an ideal vision of a new temple for the Israelites. Written most likely between 593 and 565 B.C., during their Babylonian captivity, the passage states: “The angel brought me back to the entrance of the temple, and I saw water flowing out from beneath the threshold toward the east, for the façade of the temple was toward the east; the water flowed down from the southern side of the temple, south of the altar.”
The second reading, from the 3rd chapter of St. Paul’s First Letter to the Corinthians, expands upon the physical nature of a temple to include a spiritual one. “Brothers and sisters: You are God’s building. According to the grace of God given to me, like a wise master builder I laid a solid foundation, and another is building upon it. But each must be careful how he builds upon it, for no one can lay foundation other than the one that is there, namely, Jesus Christ.”
The gospel reading, from the 2nd chapter of St. John also focuses on this spiritual aspect. The 13th through 22nd verses details Jesus throwing the money changers out of the temple, ordering them to “stop making my Father’s house a marketplace.” When asked, “What sign can you show us for doing this?” he answered, “Destroy this temple and I will rebuild it in three days.” Continuing later, “But he was speaking about the temple of his Body. Therefore, when he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this …”
The Catechism of the Catholic Church explains this concept of Christ’s body even more fully: ”The Church is the Body of Christ. Through the Spirit and his action in the sacraments, above all the Eucharist, Christ, who was once dead and is now risen, establishes the community of believers as his own Body.”
Wow. That’s heavy. Think about that for more than a moment.
God is the center of our universe. He can help us through our physician pains and emotional stress. He is the constant in our lives. After all, he’s the Creator.
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