THE CHURCH AS THE LIVING TEMPLE OF THE HOLY SPIRIT WITH CHRIST AS ITS FOUNDATION

20151109 THE CHURCH AS THE LIVING TEMPLE OF THE HOLY SPIRIT WITH CHRIST AS ITS FOUNDATION

Readings at Mass

First reading

Ezekiel 47:1-2,8-9,12 ©

The angel brought me to the entrance of the Temple, where a stream came out from under the Temple threshold and flowed eastwards, since the Temple faced east. The water flowed from under the right side of the Temple, south of the altar. He took me out by the north gate and led me right round outside as far as the outer east gate where the water flowed out on the right-hand side. He said, ‘This water flows east down to the Arabah and to the sea; and flowing into the sea it makes its waters wholesome. Wherever the river flows, all living creatures teeming in it will live. Fish will be very plentiful, for wherever the water goes it brings health, and life teems wherever the river flows. Along the river, on either bank, will grow every kind of fruit tree with leaves that never wither and fruit that never fails; they will bear new fruit every month, because this water comes from the sanctuary. And their fruit will be good to eat and the leaves medicinal.’

Psalm

Psalm 45:2-3,5-6,8-9 ©

The waters of a river give joy to God’s city, the holy place where the Most High dwells.

God is for us a refuge and strength,

  a helper close at hand, in time of distress,

so we shall not fear though the earth should rock,

  though the mountains fall into the depths of the sea.

The waters of a river give joy to God’s city, the holy place where the Most High dwells.

The waters of a river give joy to God’s city,

  the holy place where the Most High dwells.

God is within, it cannot be shaken;

  God will help it at the dawning of the day.

The waters of a river give joy to God’s city, the holy place where the Most High dwells.

The Lord of hosts is with us:

  the God of Jacob is our stronghold.

Come, consider the works of the Lord,

  the redoubtable deeds he has done on the earth.

The waters of a river give joy to God’s city, the holy place where the Most High dwells.

Second reading

1 Corinthians 3:9-11,16-17 ©

You are God’s building. By the grace God gave me, I succeeded as an architect and laid the foundations, on which someone else is doing the building. Everyone doing the building must work carefully. For the foundation, nobody can lay any other than the one which has already been laid, that is Jesus Christ.

  Didn’t you realise that you were God’s temple and that the Spirit of God was living among you? If anybody should destroy the temple of God, God will destroy him, because the temple of God is sacred; and you are that temple.

Gospel Acclamation

2Ch7:16

Alleluia, alleluia!

I have chosen and consecrated this house, says the Lord,

for my name to be there forever.

Alleluia!

Gospel

John 2:13-22 ©

Just before the Jewish Passover Jesus went up to Jerusalem, and in the Temple he found people selling cattle and sheep and pigeons, and the money changers sitting at their counters there. Making a whip out of some cord, he drove them all out of the Temple, cattle and sheep as well, scattered the money changers’ coins, knocked their tables over and said to the pigeon-sellers, ‘Take all this out of here and stop turning my Father’s house into a market.’ Then his disciples remembered the words of scripture: Zeal for your house will devour me. The Jews intervened and said, ‘What sign can you show us to justify what you have done?’ Jesus answered, ‘Destroy this sanctuary, and in three days I will raise it up.’ The Jews replied, ‘It has taken forty-six years to build this sanctuary: are you going to raise it up in three days?’ But he was speaking of the sanctuary that was his body, and when Jesus rose from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this, and they believed the scripture and the words he had said.

THE CHURCH AS THE LIVING TEMPLE OF THE HOLY SPIRIT WITH CHRIST AS ITS FOUNDATION

SCRIPTURE READINGS: EZ 47:1-2.8-9, 12; 1 COR 3:9-11, 16-17; JN 2:13-22

The Church celebrates the Dedication of St John Lateran Basilica in Rome today.  The Basilica has been, and is still considered as the Cathedral of Rome and therefore the seat of the Bishop of Rome since the 4^th century.  By extension, it is considered as the mother church of all the local churches in the world.  Hence, in celebrating this feast in honour of the Lateran Basilica, it is our acknowledgment that each local church has its origin in the mother church of Rome.

Within this context, it is opportune for us to reflect on the nature of the Church.  Whenever we celebrate the dedication of a church, we celebrate first and foremost the Church as a dwelling place of God.  For this reason, in today’s scripture readings, the Church is called the temple of God whereby the temple signifies a place where God lives.  If that is so, the Church necessarily is the source of life and grace.  This is expressed in the first reading from the Prophet Ezekiel.  Just like the trees along the river that flows through the temple of Jerusalem that bear fruits in plenty, the Church as the living temple of God gives life, health, wholesomeness and fecundity to those who are baptized in the waters of baptism.

It is for this reason that the Lateran Basilica as the mother church of the universal Church chose St John the Baptist and St John the Evangelist to be her patrons.  This is because St John the Baptist is the symbol of the importance of baptism.  St John the Evangelist is known for his discourse on the Holy Eucharist as the Bread of Life.  The Church is aware that through the Sacraments of Baptism and the Holy Eucharist, the Church becomes more Church.  Through baptism, new life is generated and through the Holy Eucharist, the grace of union with Christ is sustained.  Hence, through both sacraments which come through the ministry of the Church, the faithful is nurtured and strengthened in the life of Christ and become increasingly incorporated into the Church as the body of Christ and the temple of the living God.  This intrinsic relationship between the Sacraments of Baptism and the Holy Eucharist is described in John’s portrayal of the side of Jesus being pierced by the lance whereby blood and water flowed, symbolizing the Sacraments of Baptism and the Holy Eucharist which give life to the Church.

Consequently, if one were to keep one’s faith healthy and strong, then union with the Church is important, since it is only through the Church that one finds real sustenance for one’s spiritual life.  This necessity of being in union with the Church, be it the local or universal Church, symbolized by the Lateran Basilica, is important, especially when people are becoming more individualistic today and even pride themselves for not belonging to any particular church.  It is not uncommon to hear people say, “Father, I do not go to church on Sunday.  But I would pray and read the scriptures on my own at home.  I do not see the reason for going to church.  After all, I have friends who go to church regularly but their actions are worse than those who don’t.”  These people do not understand the importance of the communion of faith.  When faith is reduced to a private, individualistic interpretation and practice, such faith will become impoverished.

Of course, we must stress the importance of a living faith as well.  While it is true that God lives in the Church, His temple, yet the Church can become truly Church only when all members of the Church become living temples of God as well.  Precisely, our participation in the Church is to make possible a deeper indwelling of God’s presence in our lives, for God is not simply contented to live in temples made by human hands, but wishes to live in us too.

For this reason, the stress on the physical temple of God in the first reading of today is balanced by the equal emphasis on the people of God as the dwelling place of the Holy Spirit with its foundation in Christ.  Indeed, if the physical church is present, it is in order to serve the members of the Church so that rooted in the gospel and person of Christ as the foundation, the Holy Spirit will personally dwell in each one of us.

In order that we might become the dwelling place of God, we must turn to Jesus, as St Paul tells us, “For the foundation, nobody can lay any other than the one which has already been laid, that is Jesus Christ.”  Thus, the real dwelling place of God is of course in Jesus Himself.  He is the true sanctuary of God, as claimed by Jesus in today’s gospel.  In Jesus, the fullness of the Spirit of God is present in such a way that to see Jesus is to see the Father.  Jesus is that perfect temple of God.  Unless each individual believer and the whole Church continually turn to Jesus as the foundation stone, we cannot become the temples of the living God.  Indeed, it is for this purpose that Jesus has come.  He has come to purify this temple of ours.  Like the Jewish temple, there are still many imperfections in us.  We need to be swept clean of our sinfulness which has defiled the temple of God and made it a lesser sign of God’s presence.

Today, we need to pray for constant purification so that as the living stones of the Church, we can truly become a source of salvation and a sign of God’s presence to others.  This can happen only when we become living temples of the Spirit of Christ in our lives.  We are called to turn to Jesus who, as the living temple of God, through His life, death and resurrection can transform us all into the living temples of the Holy Spirit as well through the gift of His Spirit given to us at our baptism.

Thus, the purification that is called for entails that we continue to die with Jesus in our resistance to sin and rise with Him in the new life which is given to us through the waters of baptism as Church.  When we allow the waters of baptism to take full effect in our lives, we become spirited people who manifest God’s presence and love in the world.  At the same time, purification calls for a real participation in the Holy Eucharist daily so that we too can die with Christ and rise to a new life.  Through the Holy Eucharist, we, as members of the body of Christ, become more incorporated in Christ and in His body, the Church.  It is our union with Christ and His Church that truly make us temples of the living God, because union brings about love and service.

Written by The Most Rev William Goh

Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore

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