Theme: You are the temple of God. Make His presence known to others.
Scripture: 1 King 8:1-7, 9-13; Ps. 132: 6-7, 8-10; Mk. 6:53-56
We hear in the first reading, the inaugural ceremony of the temple which was built by Solomon. The temple was completed within six months but Solomon waited for the feast of the tabernacle. Solomon meticulously organized the inauguration and chose the day. He called priests and Levites to carry the ark (his father, David had made mistake). They also carried all the sacred vessels. Solomon offered countless sacrifices of sheep and oxen for the Lord. The ark of the covenant (two tablets of Moses) was carried and placed in the holy of holies. When the priests came out of the holy place, the cloud filled the temple. The glory of the Lord filled the temple. The priests could not stay and perform their duties. It shows intense presence of God in the temple. This was a temple of the Old Testament. It was built by Solomon. It was made of material things. The priests had access to the Holy of Holies but the people did not have. That was the only presence of God on the earth. So people came from everywhere to meet the Lord in the temple. They felt the intense presence of God in the temple.
With the arrival of Jesus, the total concept of temple was transform. God fulfilled his promises. We find in the book of Ezekiel; God says, “I will dwell in the midst of the people of Israel forever.” (Ezek 43:7). Zechariah also had written about God’s promise; “I come and I will dwell in your midst”. (Zech. 2:10) We also found Jesus called himself the temple. (Jn 2:21) Jesus is the temple of the New Testament. He is also the priest, the victim and the altar. So the people came to Jesus from all the villages, towns and farms. They followed him wherever he went. He brought sick. They wanted to touch him, touch his garment. Whoever touched him was made alright. There is total shift from a temple to Jesus among the people. Jesus was God’s presence for them. In other words, he was the living temple for them. The people had no restriction to access him. They could touch him, feel him. They experienced the power of God in Jesus.
Jesus continues to be the living temple. The second Vatican council states that the church (place of worship for Christians) is the body of Christ (cfr. Lumen gentium, no. 7). Christ is present in our families and parish communities. As a body of Christ, every parish community or family (domestic church) is asked to make known the real presence of Christ. Do our families or parish communities give witness of God? Do our families make themselves available for the people in needs? Do we bring healing to our people? Do our families/parish communities resemble the sacredness of temple? We make the church/temple. Christ is our head. We are his body. Let us make his presence known to people by lives. St. Paul would say, you are the body of Christ and each one of you is a part of it. (1 Cor. 12:27)
Fr. Alex D’Mello
