Word to the Wise
Tuesday, September 28, 2021 - Tuesday in the 26th Week in Ordinary Time
[Zech 8:20-23 and Luke 9:51-56]Thus says the Lord of hosts: In those days ten men of every nationality, speaking different tongues, shall take hold, yes, take hold of every Jew by the edge of his garment and say, "Let us go with you, for we have heard that God is with you." [Zechariah]
SEPTEMBER 28 ST. DOMINIC IBANEZ, ST. LAWRENCE RUIZ ET AL. Dominican Martyrs in Japan
These words from the prophet Zechariah are meant to impress on the returning exiles from Babylon the importance of rebuilding the temple in Jerusalem. Zechariah foresees a much broader significance than simply meeting the needs of the Jewish people. The temple would be seen as literally God's residence on earth. For Christians, Zechariah's words have a kind of universal Pentecostal flavor in their mention of various tongues and nations. But the principal force of the prophecy is the link between faith and sacred space. Without the temple, there would be no recognition of the centrality of God. The destruction of the second temple by the Romans in 70 AD created a crisis for Jewish faith which survived by a re-orientation toward synagogue and observance of the Mosaic Law.
Sacred space and faith are not the same. But the former is a powerful aid to the latter. We create a sacred space whenever we gather in prayer. [Matt. 18:20] I have celebrated the Eucharist in places that were not ordinarily "sacred space" in the same sense as the dedicated space of a church or temple. Nevertheless, as the great medieval and renaissance cathedrals remind us, a dedicated sacred space can be a powerful preaching of faith. Zechariah's image of non-Jews grabbing the sleeve of Jews asking to join them in going to the temple is one that reminds us our faith can attract powerfully when it is expressed in "sacred space." "Let us go with you, for we have heard that God is with you." AMEN