November 8, 2014

Dedication of the Basilica of St John Lateran


Commentary

John 2: 13-22

Temple or God’s house

In the first part of the passage, the narrator uses the word “temple.” Webster dictionary (online version) defines temple as “a building for religious practices.” This meaning implies human initiative, even if it is the act of worship.

The people who Jesus chases out of the Temple with their merchandise certainly have treated it as a place of human activities, and probably some of the worst kind.

Jesus, on the contrary, refers to it as “my Father’s house.” He restores the place to its noble purpose, namely, the dwelling place of God among God’s people.

How do I treat God’s dwelling places of my own being, in my brothers and sisters, in the church (both lower case c church and upper case C Church). There, God’s dwelling places.


No comments: