Feast of
the Dedication of the Lateran Basilica.
Bible
Study: Ezekiel 47, 1 to 12. 1st
Corinthians 3, 9 to 17. And John 2, 13 to 22.
As we
celebrate the memorial of the dedication of one of the greatest churches in
Rome today, the Lateran Basilica, our attention is drawn to the meaning and
significance of the temple as a place of worship where God dwells and the fact
that our very bodies are temples of God.
The words
of St. Paul to us this morning are quite instructive: “You are God's field,
God's building… Do you not know that you are God's temple and that God's Spirit
dwells in you? If anyone destroys God's temple, God will destroy him. For God's
temple is holy, and that temple you are.” As children of God, we carry God
inside of us and this is why the way and manner we choose to live matters a
lot. We must be conscious at all times of our identity as temples of God and
remind Satan of who we are whenever we are faced with temptation.
In our
mode of dressing, we should remember that certain dresses are not befitting to
us no matter the type of occasion we are attending because these dresses were
carefully designed by people who do not regard the body as a temple of God. The
philosophy behind modern fashion especially female fashion is a portrayal of
the human body as an object for sexual gratification and so, even if you do not
see yourself as such, by wearing such dresses, which emphasize nakedness, you
are promoting a culture of sin. Have you ever seen a temple without a roof and
without walls? Have you ever seen a temple without doors and windows? What
would you make of such? There is a way to be completely covered and still be
attractive. Do not dishonour the temple that is your body.
Do we
recognise the presence of God in the church? Ezekiel relates his vision where
he describes a certain fountain flowing constantly from the midst of the
Sanctuary. Wherever this water flows into, it brings life, health and
rejuvenation. Trees planted along its bank remain ever green, their fruits
never fade because they are watered by the flow of water from the Sanctuary.
This is a perfect description of what becomes of us when we constantly drink
from the water of the Sanctuary by our daily attendance of mass and other
church services. Each time, we go to church (not just any church, one that has
been dedicated and has the presence of Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament), we tap
from a flow of God’s divine and supernatural blessing. We must go with faith
expecting to drink from the water which is beyond what the physical eyes can
see.
Jesus in
today’s Gospel passage angrily drove out from the temple, those who are were
desecrating the place by selling oxen, sheep, doves and changing money. And
when asked what sign he would give to show he had the authority to cleanse the
temple, he responded: “Destroy this temple and in three days, I will raise it
up.” Jesus was speaking of the temple of his own body. When we apply this
analogy to our own lives as temples of God, we can see each time we allow sin
to reign in us and we begin to love money more than God, we are desecrating our
bodily temples.
Today, we
are called to do a cleansing our minds and hearts. We are called to make a whip
of cords and search through our lives for any sinful inclination or vice that
pollutes the temple of our bodies. Being temples of God should never be seen as
a burden. We should consider ourselves even privileged to be God-carriers
because he who has God has everything! Nothing in life deserves our valiant
pursuit, nothing is worth dying for, we have God in us, we should be satisfied
and happy. We shouldn’t be aloof to God as his hosts, we should constantly
engage him by being prayerful, talking to him and listening to him knowing that
he is always with us, we should never be afraid of what any evil person can do
to us.
As temples
of God that we are, we should be a in love relationship with God who is within
us and our love for God should be so strong that we dare not offend him by
desecrating our bodies through sinful acts such as looking at indecent
materials with our eyes, telling lies with our mouth or immoral acts with our
flesh. We actually betray God and cause him heart break each time we do these things
because God always remains with us and he sees all that we do, he hears our
thoughts and knows our plans.
Let us
Pray:
Lord
Jesus, teach me to honour you in my body as your temple that I may completely
overcome all sin and temptation. Amen.
Good morning.
Be Happy. Live Positive. Have Faith. It is well with you. Happy new week.
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