"Stop making my Father's house a marketplace." Do you ever expect a return, in this life or the next, on your contributions to religious institutions? Do you ever view participation in the sacraments as a way of accumulating spiritual wealth? Do you ever strive to monetize the divine gifts entrusted to you for the enrichment of your brothers and sisters? How many temples have been built from our lust for divine rewards? How much bread and wine has been consumed by hearts and minds fixated on greed rather than grace? How many of us approach God and faith with a "what's in it for me" attitude? Must our Brother come along with a whip? Or will we open our eyes and see that our Parent's city was not created for our exploitation, and their temples are not our playthings.
Showing posts with label Annual Feasts: Lateran Basilica. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Annual Feasts: Lateran Basilica. Show all posts
Sunday, November 9, 2014
Sunday, November 9, 2008
Feast of the Dedication of the Lateran Basilica in Rome
1 Corinthians 3: 9c-11, 16-17; John 2: 13-22
Oh, the irony. Today we celebrate a cathedral, a building, a physical temple to God and Church. Yet what does our Scripture speak of? A cathedral of a different sort: "Do you not know that you are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?" How easy it is for us to imagine God dwelling in things of grandeur: a magnificent basilica, a mighty institution. And yet look where our Brother chose to be born, where the temple of his body first graced our little world. Even in the Eucharist, we are not satisfied with the simplicity of the gift Jesus left for us: bread and wine. We have to puff them up, shroud them in gold and jewels, build lofty structures to house them. Why is it so hard to see that our Father cares not for appearances?
Oh, the irony. Today we celebrate a cathedral, a building, a physical temple to God and Church. Yet what does our Scripture speak of? A cathedral of a different sort: "Do you not know that you are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?" How easy it is for us to imagine God dwelling in things of grandeur: a magnificent basilica, a mighty institution. And yet look where our Brother chose to be born, where the temple of his body first graced our little world. Even in the Eucharist, we are not satisfied with the simplicity of the gift Jesus left for us: bread and wine. We have to puff them up, shroud them in gold and jewels, build lofty structures to house them. Why is it so hard to see that our Father cares not for appearances?
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