Word to the Wise
Monday, November 9, 2009 - Dedication of the Cathedral of St. John Lateran
[Ezekiel 47:1-2, 8-9, 12; 1 Corinthians 3:9c-11; John 2:13-22]The angel brought me back to the entrance of the temple, and I saw water flowing out from beneath the threshold of the temple toward the east......[Ezekiel] Do you not know that you are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? (1 Cor.) Jesus answered and said to them, "Destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up." (John)
I can imagine many of my readers looking at the title of this feast and saying, "What?...." I can also imagine any pastor's reaction to the sight of water flowing from under the church!!!! Last but not least, there is the somewhat deeper question about the necessity of large church buildings at all! Are we not all temples of God? (A very large family friend once told me that he was a "basilica.") I'll try to speak briefly to these. Creating buildings as a sign of faith goes back as far as recorded history. The pyramids are an obvious example, but I'm sure all of us can think of others. The temple in Jerusalem that Jesus "cleansed" in the gospel scripture today came about when King David desired to centralize all government and worship (these were not separated as we are accustomed to) in one place - Jerusalem. Since this became the only place where certain important religious acts could occur, its importance was considerable. It would be as if the Eucharist could only be offered at the Pope's official cathedral in Rome - which, by the way, is not St. Peter's but, surprise! the Cathedral of St. John Lateran!!! The maintenance of such buildings and its staff is always controversial and this was true in Jesus' day. Even the poor widow in yesterday's Sunday gospel was obliged to pay a temple tax! Yet, Ezekiel sees life giving water flowing from the temple in his vision! (Not a plumbing problem!) Many of us thrill to visit one of the historically significant churches like St. Peter's in Rome or Chartres in France, or even St. Patrick's in New York City. It doesn't occur to us (except perhaps those of us who have been pastors or maintenance folks) what it takes to maintain such a place! A beautiful church is a prayer in stone, etc.. However, beautiful churches are not built for their own sakes! They require faithful people to gather and worship in them! Celebrating the feast of the dedication of the Basilica of St. John Lateran in Rome serves as a way of reminding us of the fundamental reason for building a church, no matter what the size of it. The reason is that a church building is an invitation to worship. It should presume a community of faith instead of a "field of dreams" approach, i.e. "If you build it, they will come." It can be a sign of hope in a community that has suffered trauma. St. John Lateran has survived attacks from barbarians, earthquakes and fire! The toughness and durability of faith is symbolized in the history of this church. AMEN
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