Dedication Of The St. John Lateran

Ezekiel 47:1-2,8-9,12 
1 Corinthians 3:9-13, 16—17,
John 2:13-22

Today we celebrate the dedication of the St. John Lateran, was the first of the great churches built after Constantine ended Christian persecution in the 4th century. The first among the four major Basilicas in Rome.The cathedral of the bishop of Rome-The Roman Pontiff. Five ecumenical councils had taken place there. Every year, the Pope celebrates the Holy Thursday Mass there.

Why do we gather at Mass as a Church or why do we go to Church? Our readings today offer us an answer to our question.

In our first reading from Ezekiel 43:1-2,4-7. To us, is given a vision of the temple filled with God’s glory. Saying that in the temple is a throne for God and that the soles of God’s feet are planted there, is also a way of saying God dwells among us.

Ezekiel also speaks of the flowing water running out of the temple to bring God’s life and fertility. All creation is God’s dwelling place. Moses had such an experience in the desert before the burning bush. It seems though, great visions are a bit too rich for our daily fare.

But we do need ‘our’ place. A place we go to for peace, a place to speak with God, a place we approach with reverence because for some reason it is sacred to us. The kind of place where I feel I am loved, I can be with the loved one. A church is that! It is an inn of hospitality welcoming all. There we find a banquet table piled high with God’s graces, sagging under their weight. A seat is reserved for each of us at this table of abundance.

Again in 1 Corinthians 3:9-13, 16—17,
Paul speaks of the waters of Baptism that fill us with the Holy Spirit. Priests, prophets, kings, and queens we become ‘other Christs’. When the perfumed oil of Chrism is placed upon our heads we are commissioned, even the tiniest of us, to go into the world to love as Christ, seeing Christ in others and in ourselves. In the garden of the church, we tend our hearts so that they may grow to the size of the heart of Christ.

In today’s Gospel, Christ entered the Temple just before the Passover and we can see His passion for God’s building and His reaction towards those who do not have reverence for the temple. As a matter of fact, He had to make a whip of cords to teach them a lesson. Scripture is fulfilled here, Zeal for your house will consume me. On the Cross Christ again is thirsty for us. From his side will flow life-giving water upon all who gather beneath the cross, those filled with the Spirit that Jesus breathes upon us in his final breath. Is our heart burning with the fire of love for His Church and His people?

Yes, our bodies are the temple where God dwells within us, we are holy. Our homes and offices, buildings of brick and mortar, no matter how large or humble, are transformed by our personality. They bear the marks of our children, our trophies, this favorite color, the smell of that recipe, my favorite chair. So our church buildings, similar in many features, are each unique by their moments in history and also by the ‘living temples’ that they welcome, and that brings them to new life.

Fr Osho