You, the Temple of God, Are Sacred
Introduction
Christians build churches to worship God. But churches have no meaning unless they point towards the Church, the body of Christ animated by his Spirit. God is present in the first place where his people are, with their faith and hope and love. We are the Church, and by the grace of God we make the Church; we are its living building stones. When we come to church, we express that we are God’s living people who build our lives on Christ.
First Reading: Truly, the Lord Is Here
When Jacob is in pagan territory God makes his presence felt to him, for God is where his people are, and Jacob is the seed from which God’s people will spring.
1 Reading Ezekiel 47:1-2, 8-9, 12
The angel brought me
back to the entrance of the temple,
and I saw water flowing out
from beneath the threshold of the temple 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.
He led me outside by the north gate,
and around to the outer gate facing the east,
where I saw water trickling from the southern side.
He said to me,
“This water flows into the eastern district down upon the Arabah,
and empties into the sea, the salt waters, which it makes fresh.
Wherever the river flows,
every sort of living creature that can multiply shall live,
and there shall be abundant fish,
for wherever this water comes the sea shall be made fresh.
Along both banks of the river, fruit trees of every kind shall grow;
their leaves shall not fade, nor their fruit fail.
Every month they shall bear fresh fruit,
for they shall be watered by the flow from the sanctuary.
Their fruit shall serve for food, and their leaves for medicine.”
Responsorial Psalm 46:2-3, 5-6, 8-9
R. (5) The waters of the river gladden the city of God, the holy dwelling of the Most High!
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.
R. The waters of the river gladden the city of God, the holy dwelling of the Most High!
There is a stream whose runlets gladden the city of God,
the holy dwelling of the Most High.
God is in its midst; it shall not be disturbed;
God will help it at the break of dawn.
R. The waters of the river gladden the city of God, the holy dwelling of the Most High!
The LORD of hosts is with us;
our stronghold is the God of Jacob.
Come! behold the deeds of the LORD,
the astounding things he has wrought on earth.
R. The waters of the river gladden the city of God, the holy dwelling of the Most High!
You Are God’s Building
The Christian community itself is the building constructed in God’s honor. Each of us is a living stone in it, with Christ as our foundation. God lives in his community.
2 Reading 1 Corinthians 3:9c-11, 16-17
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 foundation,
and another is building upon it.
But each one must be careful how he builds upon it,
for no one can lay a foundation other than the one that is there,
namely, Jesus Christ.
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.
Alleluia 2 Chronicles 7:16
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
I have chosen and consecrated this house, says the Lord,
that my name may be there forever.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel: Christ, The True Temple
Jesus cleanses the Jewish temple. It will be destroyed, for the true “house of God,” where we will meet God is Jesus Christ. Are we not the Church, his body?
Gospel John 2:13-22
Since the Passover of the Jews was near,
Jesus went up to Jerusalem.
He found in the temple area those who sold oxen, sheep, and doves,
as well as the money-changers seated there.
He made a whip out of cords
and drove them all out of the temple area, with the sheep and oxen,
and spilled the coins of the money-changers
and overturned their tables,
and to those who sold doves he said,
“Take these out of here,
and stop making my Father’s house a marketplace.”
His disciples recalled the words of Scripture,
Zeal for your house will consume me.
At this the Jews answered and said to him,
“What sign can you show us for doing this?”
Jesus answered and said to them,
“Destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up.”
The Jews said,
“This temple has been under construction for forty-six years,
and you will raise it up in three days?”
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,
and they came to believe the Scripture
and the word Jesus had spoken.
Commentary
When a physical church is dedicated to God, it becomes the house of God. The church becomes a visible sign of God’s dwelling amidst the people. Every church is also a reminder that each one of us, by virtue of our baptism, is a temple of God and God dwells within us. Thus, we may speak of a correlation between the physical temple and the spiritual temple that our hearts are: How we treat the church is indicative of how consecrated our hearts are to God. Jesus saw the temple becoming a filthy marketplace filled with merchants selling oxen, sheep, and doves, and money changers, instead of being a place of prayer and devotion to God. How are the premises of my heart? Are they filled with many worldly concerns and bargains or are they singularly devoted to God? Ezekiel saw living waters flowing from the temple and nourishing life around it. Do living waters flow from my heart, which is the temple of the Spirit, nurturing life and producing much fruit of the Spirit in the world?
Blessing
When we speak and think of the Church
we should keep in mind that the Church,
the community of the People of God,
is more important than the church building.
We are the body of Christ
and in us people should recognize the Lord
and feel his presence.
May this become fully true in us,
with the blessing of almighty God,
the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. R/ Amen.
Go in peace, and be the sign
that Christ is alive in the world of today. R/ Thanks be to God.