The True Temple of God!

Ezek 47:1-2, 8-9, 12; Ps 46:1-2, 4-5, 7-8; 1Cor 3:9b-11, 16-17; John 2:13-22

After series of persecutions of Christianity in the Roman Empire, Emperor Constantine, had a church built on land that once belonged to the Laterani family around 313AD. This Church was officially dedicated on November 9, 324, eleven years after the Edict of Milan. This church became the beginning of a visible authority of the Church which had remained long hidden from the world, as it emerged out of the long and dark periods of persecutions, into a new period of establishment and expansion.

That 4th century church was the precursor of the present Basilica. The Baptistery attached to the present Basilica is where Emperor Constantine was baptized. This Basilica is the Cathedral of the Diocese of Rome. It is the Pope’s own church in his capacity as Bishop of Rome. For that reason, it has the title, “mother and head of all the churches of the city and the world,” and that includes our own parish church where we are gathered for prayer.

The celebration of the dedication of the Lateran Church is an opportunity to reflect on the grace and blessings that accompany the presence of God in our midst. The water that the Prophet Ezekiel saw from the temple flowing towards the east is a symbol of the grace of God that flows to the faithful from the house of God: The Church.

The Church is a place of grace and blessing from which God’s favor flows like living water to refresh humanity. Therefore, the church should be pure and holy as a place of prayer. Little wonder that Jesus in the Gospel cleanses the temple of all impurities. When we hear Jesus declare: “Destroy this temple and in three days, I will rebuild it,” Jesus here ushers in a new temple, not made by human hand, but one established through His suffering and death. He, Himself, has become the new temple and locus of worship of the Father.

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The new temple is the whole of Christ (Christus Totus). True worship can only be made in and through Jesus Christ to the Father by the power of the Holy Spirit. We cannot give true worship to God unless united in the Body of Christ: The Church. Today’s feast reminds us of this unity which is one of the “Four Characters” of a true Church which stands at the heart of the priestly prayer of Christ: “So that they may all be one,” (John.17:21). St. Augustine reminds us that “All who believe in Christ are truly built into the house of the Lord when they are fitted together through love.” 

The stern manner with which Jesus chased the vendors from the temple came totally unexpected. It was a surprise that no one opposed Him. No one tried to stop Him from His authoritative action. The inaction of the authorities and the temple guards was a tacit concession that Jesus had the power to do what He did, that the temple was His Father’s property. We are reminded of the zeal that our Lord has for the cleansing of His Church.

Today’s Feast allows us to remember the journey of the people and God’s constant and faithful care. At the same time, we are reminded today that each one of us is a “house of God” in the Risen Jesus, because the Holy Spirit dwells in each one of us (cf. 1Cor. 3:16).

St. Paul reminds us: “You are God’s building… Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you?” More fundamental than the building we call church are the people we call Church. The building we call church is there to help us to express our identity as a people of faith called to worship God through Christ in the Spirit. If our worship is to be authentic, the shape of our worship must become the shape of our lives. Our whole lives are to be a movement towards God, through Christ and in the Spirit. This is what it means to be Church, to be the temple of God in the world. This is the heart of our baptismal calling. In the same way that we must keep the structural temple clean and undefiled, our bodies as God’s temple ought to be holy.

We pray that Jesus come into our hearts as well and take possession of it and establish His authority and drive out every sin. May we respond to His purifying action in our lives, Amen.