Weekly Bible Study - Ezek 47, Ps 46, 1 Cor, Gospel of John

9 November 2014

Dedication of the Lateran Basilica in Rome

Often we have heard it said, “The Church is not a building, it is people.” While this is certainly true, we draw from today’s readings some reflections on the imagery of edifice.

St. John's Bible, Ez 40-48. Click here for info or to purchase.

At the time of the exile, the temple at Jerusalem lay in ruins. The priest-prophet Ezekiel offered his people a vision not only of restoration, but of streams of new life that would flow from the temple in every direction.  Waters of healing would pour out in abundance offering its broken people the hope of salvation. Does our church offer to its broken and searching people a place of healing and hope?

Paul takes the imagery of edifice a step further by proclaiming “You are God’s building!” He emphasizes that we are the temples of God and our true foundation is Jesus Christ. Do our actions and attitudes reflect our true identity as sacred temples for one another?

Jesus comes upon a temple ruined not by physical destruction but by the disrespect of its merchants. But he points to a greater reality, that which his contemporaries cannot yet grasp: He is the living temple that will be raised up. Do we respect our sacred space as a manifestation of the resurrected Christ's presence within and among us?

The Church is its people but it is also a place where the faithful gather to celebrate and become, more fully through its celebration, Christ's temple on earth. The building itself invites our respect and reverence. How much moreso ought we respect and revere one another, as living temples of Christ's presence?



The author, Ms. Barbara Gawle, leads Bible studies at her parish, Incarnation Church of Wethersfield, CT. She is a CBS graduate and the 2012 recipient of the Biblical School's highest award, the Lawrence Boadt Memorial Medal.