November 9, 2014

Dedication of the Lateran Basilica in Rome

Ezekiel 47: 1-2, 8-9, 12; 1 Corinthians 3: 9-11, 16-17; John 2: 13-22
Several times during the Church cycle, the dedication of this church or that church is celebrated. It is good to remember history and to see how each person is a part of that history.
Did you know that the Diocese of Richmond was formed from America’s first diocese, the Archdiocese of Baltimore and that it is among the nation’s eight oldest Catholic dioceses? Pope Pius VII on July 11, 1820 decreed the Diocese of Richmond into existence which encompassed the entire state of Virginia including West Virginia. Bishop Patrick Kelly from Kilkenny, Ireland was the first bishop and the first Cathedral was St. Peter’s Church which was built in 1834. The present Cathedral of the Sacred Heart was built in 1906. Bishop DiLorenzo is the twelfth Bishop of Richmond being installed on May 24, 2004.
If the question is asked ‘What is the Cathedral Church of Rome’ most would answer ‘Well St. Peter’s of course.’ This is wrong. Today marks the anniversary of the dedication of the Cathedral Church of Rome, St. John Lateran. The Emperor Constantine shortly after he legalized Christianity in the early fourth century gave the land owned by the Laterani Family to the Church to build a basilica. It was dedicated as a place of Christian worship on November 9, 324. So this is the ‘HOME’ church of the Bishop of Rome, the pope. On its façade are is the words of Pope Clement XII (1730-40) saying that this basilica is the ”mother and head of all churches of Rome and the world” It was the residence of the popes from the 4^th century until their moving to Avignon in 1309 and it was the site of five ecumenical councils. The present structure was commissioned by Pope Innocent X in 1646 and under the high altar rests the remains of the small wooden table which tradition says St. Peter celebrated Mass on. The original church was dedicated to the Savior and later on to St. John the Baptist.
So what is the importance of today’s feast to me and to Christians as we celebrate today’s feast? The readings help us with this.
The first reading is from the prophet Ezekiel and in his writings the temple of the Lord is a big part of his visions. Before the collapse of the kingdom, his visions predicted God’s abandoning the temple because it had been made so unclean by the sins of the people. Ezekiel envisioned a new temple constructed by God and not humans. It represents the ideal place where God and every person ever created come together. His 43: 7 states it so dramatically, “The voice said to me: Son of man, this is where my throne shall be, this is where I will set the soles of my feet; here I will dwell among the Israelites forever. Never again shall they and their kings profane my holy name with their harlotries and with the corpses of their kings [their high places].” So God’s presence brings new life, this is symbolized by a stream of water flowing from God to His people. The water brings new life in the form of all kinds of living creatures. Trees have fresh fruit as food and as medicine and this is year-round. This prophecy is adding another vision which is seen in Paul’s letter to the Corinthians.
Paul shares that the foundation of ‘this building’ is Jesus, Paul calls Him a master builder. Now the big point is Paul is saying to the Corinthians, “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.” Do I consider that ‘my body is holy’? Do I know why it is holy? Because the Spirit of God is always with me and every person.
In the Gospel Jesus makes it obvious that He has come to bring an old belief system to fulfillment. The temple had become a marketplace where people were selling animals for sacrifice. NOW Jesus was talking about the temple of His body and alluding to His own death and resurrection. The people listening thought that Jesus was referring to the Temple in Jerusalem. But He was talking about His body, which has now replaced the temple. We no longer need a building, we no longer need to put faith in a temple. Everything that the temple was understood to provide for the Jewish people is now understood to come from Jesus. And as Vatican II so very frequently expressed…WE ARE THE PEOPLE OF GOD.

Alice Camille in Exploring the Sunday Readings explores this phrase “Destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up.” She says, “One last question on this feast of sacred places: what’s a temple? The term implies a sacred precinct, the most famous of which was the Temple of Jerusalem built to honor the God of Israel. Biblically, it was understood to be more than a house of worship, but rather God’s temporal address. The community around Jesus were shocked to hear Him speak of the Temple’s destruction: historically, it had happened once, at the time of the Babylonian invasion in 587BC, and took the core of life out of the nation.

Jesus of course was referring to Himself as the residence of divine indwelling. St. Paul celebrated the phrase as the truth about all believers. God’s spirit of holiness lives in us as authentically as it does in consecrated places and sacramental signs. The sacred encounter happens wherever we are.”

So I ask am I the presence of Jesus? Have I been the presence of Jesus so far this day? This past week? Am I ‘living proof’ that God is alive and spreading His love through me?
So I reflect on:

• Have I been at Church today? This week? Have I been at my place of worship recently? What makes this place, sacred for me?
  
• As I look at my spiritual journey, I remember the places that has been places of pilgrimage; what experiences of God touched me?
  
• Alice Camille asks, “Being God’s temple is an honor, a surprise, a responsibility, and a challenge. Which reality is most present to you now?”
  
• When I hear the word ‘church’ what first comes to me: a building or a community of people?
  

Sacred Space 2014 says:

“Jesus is angry as He sees the lack of respect the people have for His Father’s house, the place of prayer, the place of presence. The people are blind to who Jesus is and deaf to His message.

How patient you are with us, Lord, as we stumble and weave our way through life without the realization of Your silent presence waiting for us to awaken to Your unfailing love.”