GOD’S WORD FOR THE DAY (based on Catholic Liturgical Readings)
DATE: 9TH NOVEMBER 2016
FEAST OF THE DEDICATION OF THE LATERAN BASILICA
1ST READING: Ezekiel 47:1-2,8-9,12
PSALM: Psalm 46:2-3,5-6,8-9
2ND READING: 1Corinthians 3:9-11, 16-17
GOSPEL: John 2:13-22
THEME: YOU ARE THE TEMPLE OF GOD
It is normal for many of us to walk into churches to publicly exercise our Christian faith. This was not so for the early Christians in the Roman Empire. Until sometime in the 4th century A.D., it was illegal and a serious crime against the Roman state to publicly declare ones’ faith as a Christian. Believers would secretly meet in their homes and other secluded places to celebrate their faith. Many of such believers lost their lives (martyrs) because they were “caught” practising their faith.
The situation changed drastically when Emperor Constantine issued the Edict of Milan in 313 A.D., legalizing Christianity in the whole of the empire and thereby allowing Christians to practice their faith publicly. As a sign of goodwill, the emperor gave his Lateran Palace to the bishop of Rome, which was adapted to become a Church and was dedicated on 9th November 324 A.D. as a public place of worship. Today that Church in Rome, which has been renovated over the years and now known as the Basilica of St. John Lateran, serves as the cathedral of the bishop of Rome (the pope) and it is considered as the mother of all churches in Rome and the world.
As we celebrate today an important aspect of our history as Christians, St. Paul reminds us that a physical temple is only a sign of the spiritual temple that we are called upon to become. He tells the Church in Corinth, “Do you not know that you are a temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? If any man destroys the temple of God, God will destroy him, for the temple of God is holy, and that is what you are” (1Cor 3:16,17).
Unfortunately, sometimes we turn the temples of our body into a marketplace and engage in activities that give no worship to the Lord. Instead of offering our bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, we defile them and use them to cause pain to our brothers and sisters. Today, Jesus turns to us and says, “Stop making my Father’s house a marketplace!” (Jn 2:16).
Our lives, like water, are supposed to bring life to those we encounter and not death. The prophet Ezekiel gives a beautiful imagery in this regard. With reference to the vision of water flowing from the temple, he says, “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” (Ezek.47:9,12).
As we commemorate the dedication of the Basilica of St. John Lateran and recall our historical roots in our Christian journey, we are called upon to rededicate our very selves to the cause of the Kingdom of God. It is a call to repentance and renewal. It is a call to bring life to those we meet for we are the temple of God.
Prayer: Eternal Father, we are your people and you are our God. Make us the temple of your grace and come dwell within us. Through Christ our Lord.
Andrews Obeng, svd
DIVINE WORD MISSIONARIES
BIBLICAL PASTORAL MINISTRY
(Ghana Province)
“May the darkness of sin and the night of unbelief vanish before the light of the Word and the Spirit of grace. And may the heart of Jesus live in the hearts of all people” (St. Arnold Janssen).