The idea of the Temple is something which evolved throughout the story of salvation found in the Bible. Moses was tasked with building the Tent of Meeting which was a primitive version of the Temple since they were at that time a traveling people (Ex 40). King Solomon built the great Temple in Jerusalem where sacrifice was offered for the sins of the people. Jesus Christ raised up the Temple of his Body after three days.
The Temple is no more, but Jesus gave us a new Temple, His Church. But what does that mean for you?
1. The Church is Holy
The Church is not a building or an organization. The Church is not the priests and nuns. The Church is you. It’s easy to forget that the Church is made up of people, but it’s important to remember that. Even more important is the fact that these people are all imperfect, we are all sinners. But our sinfulness does not take away from the holiness of the Church.
“Do you not know that you are the Temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?”
The Church is holy because God makes it so. It’s not our pious attitude that makes the Church holy, it is the Holy Spirit that dwells within us which makes us holy. The Temple was just a building—a very nice, expensive building at that—but the Shekinah, God’s presence in the glory cloud which came down to rest upon the Glory Seat atop the Ark of the Covenant (1 Kgs 8), was what made the Temple special. You have to remember that God has made you holy by sending you the gift of the Holy Spirit. It’s your duty to maintain that holiness.
2. The Church Must Refocus
When I say “the Church” I am talking about you and me and all the other people who call themselves Catholics. You need to refocus. I need to refocus. The Church needs to refocus. On what? Well on our purpose. The rules and rituals of our faith are often attacked as being mindless traditions. In a sense this is true. If you are following the rules to follow the rules, then what help are they to you?
In today’s Gospel reading, Jesus cleanses the Temple, kicking out all of those people gathered within it’s walls who were in a sense exploiting the rules and rituals for their own gain. It’s not to say that their services were not helpful to the Temple, but the deeper problem was that they had lost sight of the purpose of those rules and rituals. Why did they exchange their Roman coins for Temple coins? Why did they bring animals to be slaughtered on the altar? What was the significance of the blood being poured out?
Our modern Church, which means you, has our own set of questions to answer. Why am I a Catholic? What is my purpose in life? How can I better love God and neighbor?
3. The Church Must Transform the World
In today’s first reading the prophet Ezekiel is taken in a vision by an angel who shows him around the Temple from which he sees a river of water pouring out into the sea and makes the salt water fresh. Our purpose as the Church is to refresh, to transform the world through the spreading of the saving message of the Gospel.
“Wherever it flows, the river teems with every kind of living creature; fish will abound. Where these waters flow they refresh; everything lives where the river goes.”
That’s evangelization. Bringing life, true life, to the world. Evangelization is not just a small part of the Church’s work, it is in fact the primary duty of the Church. Remember, the Church is you and I, and we need to show the world what it means to be fully alive. Blessed Pope John Paul II discussed this in His encyclical letter Redemptoris Missio on the permanent validity of the Church’s missionary mandate.
“Missionary evangelization […] is the primary service which the Church can render to every individual and to all humanity in the modern world…”
Your Challenge, Should You Choose to Accept It
I’ve got three questions for you to think about and reflect on today. Feel free to share in comments.
- What can I do to maintain the personal holiness I have through the Holy Spirit within me?
- What can I do to refocus on my purpose and God’s plan for my life?
- What can I do to become a better evangelizer and help to transform the world?