Thursday, 11/9/17 – Church: House of God? Living Body?

If you were asked to do a collage around the theme of “Church,” what 10 pictures would you choose? [It might be fun to jot down what you would pick before you read any further today.]

The pictures that come to my mind would be Sunday mass at my current parish church, the interior of our “old church” where I was married and my children received their initial sacraments, the scene of the first mass I attended as a college student, the Protestant church I attended as a teen, St. Peter’s square filled with people and the pope on the balcony. Then, interestingly, my attention shifts from places to people and actions:  a friend and I visiting a dying friend, our prayer group singing in the chapel…and serving lunch at a low income senior apartment, the parish meeting I attended earlier tonight, and, finally, you readers around the world who come together by visiting this website.

Church—what is it?

Feast of the Dedication of St. John Lateran

Today the universal church celebrates the Feast of the Dedication of St. John Lateran, Archbasilica in Rome.  This church was originally dedicated in 324, just eleven years after Christians gained the right to practice their faith openly.  It is the oldest church in the West.  Originally named the Basilica of Christ the Savior, the names of St. John the Baptist and St. John the Apostle took precedence for denoting the church in the 6th century.  Lateran is part of the name because the original property given the church by the Roman emperor Constantine had belonged to the Laterani family. It is the Archbasilica of the Roman Catholic Church, the Pope’s official church.

This is the only feast day in the Roman calendar that officially celebrates a church building.  The readings for today lead naturally to consideration of, “What is Church?”

Foundation in the Temple

Today’s first reading gives a wonderful vision of God’s house.  The prophet Ezekiel is writing from the Babylonian exile.  Throughout that exile the Jewish people had had to maintain their faith without the benefit of temple or way to worship in community.  The temple had been destroyed in 587 BCE.  Ezekiel is giving the exiles a picture to energize them to return to Jerusalem and rebuild the temple.

He describes not only the temple, but waters of new life flowing from the temple.  In the full text of this chapter he describes how the water begins as a trickle and grows to a great river as it moves from the temple into the land. Today’s selection focuses on the temple as center of new life:

I saw water flowing out
from beneath the threshold of the temple toward the east…
“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.

This was a picture of abundance coming from God’s house.  This was a picture of hope and trust in God, in God who lived in his temple and gave life to the land.  Yes, this is a picture of Church.

We are church:  temples of the Holy Spirit.

The second reading looks at church in a different way.  St. Paul describes how each of us is a temple of God—a mini-church.  We are, you know.  We are living temples of the Holy Spirit who has lived within each of us since the moment we were baptized.

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.

Church, the building where God lives.  Church, the living residence of God which I am, which you are.  We are temples of the Holy Spirit because of the great gift God made of Himself in Jesus.

This, too, is Church—especially as I the temple of the Holy Spirit join with you the temple of the Holy Spirit and we join with others across the world.  We, too, are Church.

Christ’s Passion for His Church

The Gospel today is a picture of Jesus we seldom see:  It is a picture of Jesus “consumed with zeal” for the holiness of the temple, of his Father’s house.  His actions are clear and his words are sharp:

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.”

Keeping his Father’s house holy was tremendously important to Jesus.  This, too, is Church.

Applications

Today, in many ways, the culture is as destructive to the Church as it was in the time when the Church of St. John Lateran was built—perhaps almost as destructive spiritually as the Chaldean culture was destructive to the Jews in exile.

Are we consumed with zeal for God’s house?  Or do we take it for granted?

What if we in Frankfort had not been able to celebrate mass for 70 years—the time of the Babylonian exile?  That’s one year longer than my life.  In that scenario NEVER would I have experienced the worship of mass.  My family wasn’t Catholic or actively Christian.  That means I would know NOTHING of the faith which means so much to me now.

What if we in the United States had not been able to worship publicly for 300 years—since 1717?  That’s about how long after the resurrection that Christians had to gather outside the official religion of Rome.  What would America (or your country) have been without the influence of Christianity?

What if there was little or no reverence in my local parish?  What if chaos reigned at mass?  What if, for whatever reason, Jesus would come in and take a whip to our Gathering Space?

Is Christ pleased with his Church?  A measure from Paul.

Indeed, how pleased is Jesus with his Church today?  Tuesday morning of this week our pastor talked about the reading from Romans 12.  He named it as a list of characteristics of an authentic Christian.  As I think about Church today, it also seems to be a good measuring rod for Church—be it the church of each of us as temples of the Holy Spirit…or of our parish…or of the whole Church:

Let love be sincere;
hate what is evil,
hold on to what is good;
love one another with mutual affection;
anticipate one another in showing honor.
Do not grow slack in zeal,
be fervent in spirit,
serve the Lord.
Rejoice in hope,
endure in affliction,
persevere in prayer.
Contribute to the needs of the holy ones,
exercise hospitality.
Bless those who persecute you,
bless and do not curse them.
Rejoice with those who rejoice,
weep with those who weep.
Have the same regard for one another;
do not be haughty but associate with the lowly.

Prayer:

Lord, thank you for the great gift of living in your community, the Church.  Thank you for the teaching and solidity of doctrine in your Church’s magisterium.  Thank you for pope, cardinals, bishops, priests, deacons, religious, and laity—all of us.  Thank you for our church buildings and for my being a temple of the Holy Spirit.  Help me today to rejoice in being part of the great multitude of Christians.  Give me the grace tonight, Lord, to gauge myself as Christian acting within the local and universal communities of Church.  Am I radiating you?  Will people know I am a Christian by my love?  When people encounter me, will they experience you?    Lord, today let me build your Kingdom by living and loving as part of my parish and part of your Church across the world.  Amen.

About the Author

Mary Ortwein lives in Frankfort, Kentucky in the US. A convert to Catholicism in 1969, Mary had a deeper conversion in 2010. She earned a theology degree from St. Meinrad School of Theology in 2015. Now an Oblate of St. Meinrad, Mary takes as her model Anna, who met the Holy Family in the temple at the Presentation. Like Anna, Mary spends time praying, working in church settings, and enjoying the people she meets. Though formally retired, Mary continues to work part-time as a marriage and family therapist and therapy supervisor. A grandmother and widow, she divides the rest of her time between facilitating small faith-sharing groups, writing, and being with family and friends. Earlier in her life, Mary worked avidly in the pro-life movement. In recent years that has taken the form of Eucharistic ministry to Carebound and educating about end-of-life matters. Now, as Respect for Human Life returns to center stage, she seeks to find ways to communicate God's love and Lordship for all--from the moment of conception through the moment we appear before Jesus when life ends.

Author Archive Page

11 Comments

  1. Thank you for a wonderful reflection which has reminded me of being the church and how to carry myself. We do as human beings take a lot for granted . Your reflection has opened up my eyes and I do now reaslize that I have been taking the church for granted to a certain extend . am now looking at the church from a different lens…..Amen ….

  2. Beautiful reflection told in such simple day to day living. Thank you for sharing your outlook into sharing and living the Holy Spirit and in God’s solid shelter over us.

  3. The reflection is beautiful. Makes me see “the Church” in a new dimension. I love the prayer, which has given me food for reflection to ask myself whether i am radiating Christ. Whether my family and people i meet will experience Christ as a result. God bless!

  4. Your reflection is always soothing and I look forward to it every week. Thank you for this reflection about ‘Church’. May we all truly be living examples of Christ on our earthly sojourn,Amen.

  5. Thank you for this wonderful reflection and,especially,for adding to my knowledge about the history of St. John Lateran and the situation of the early church.That the earlier Christains could not express their faith openely for 313 years and here I am taking the Church for granted.Lord,forgive me for those occasions I have taken the Church and her activities for granted…..

  6. Thank you, Mary. Your reflection helped me to remember that the Church is the living body of Christ. Jesus’ passion and zeal for it shows me how much he loves his Church. How much passion and love am I showing his Church? Is my home a domestic church? Hard points for me to ponder.

  7. Greetings from Denmark. What a wonderful reminder to know that my body is a temple of God and that I am called to keep the temple Holy. What a wonderful reminder to know that I in communion with the rest of my brothers and sisters all over the world make up a community which is the body of Christ. This reflection reminds me and encourages me to raise my gauge to Jesus on the cross and ask the Holy Spirit to come into my temple, sanctify it, and make it holy for the glory of God.

    Once again thank you for those beautiful words of enlightenment
    God bless you

  8. Thanks for sharing your deep questions and this reflection. I also enjoyed the historical information. I thought Latern referred to a cit. I like the idea of a family donation of land better. Then, to think that mighty church was built in only eleven years! I understand it is a small sized church but so significant. Also, I did not realize it was over 300 years before the early Church could practice openly. Thank you!

  9. Thanks Mary for your lesson for today. It has really been wonderful when it comes to the history of the church

  10. Your first sentence is a powerful exercise. Made me think lovingly about our faith and church, and it also made me think of why others may struggle with it. Thank you.

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