Holy Dwelling of the Most High: Reflections on the Readings for Feast of the Dedication of the Lateran Basilica in Rome

Ezekiel 47:1-2, 8-9, 12
Psalm 46
1 Corinthians 3:9c-11, 16-17
John 2:13-22

What is the Lateran Basilica? From The Catholic Encyclopedia: “Officially, the Church of our Most High Savior called St. John Lateran, is the Cathedral of the bishop of Rome, the pope. It is considered the mother church of the Christian world.” Thus it is considered the “parent” church of Christendom.

A temple is a place where God dwells. St. Paul said, “Do you not know that your body is a temple of the holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own?” (1 Corinthians 6:19). The Ignatius Catholic Study Bible (ICSB) explains: “Baptism makes every believer a spouse of God the Son and a sanctuary of God the Spirit (CCC 1265, 1695).”

The background for the first reading is a vision that Ezekiel is having of a “new and perfect Temple.” (ICSB) This is similar to the vision John has of the New Jerusalem (Revelation chapters 21 & 22). Both visions mention the flowing water of the River of Life, flowing from the Temple. Recall Jesus’ promise to the Samaritan woman of Living Water (John 4:10). We see the life-giving properties of this water of life, much like the eternal life-giving and healing water that flows from the heart of Jesus. “... for wherever this water comes the sea shall be made fresh. Along both banks of the river, fruit trees of every kind shall grow; their leaves shall not fade, nor their fruit fail. Every month they shall bear fresh fruit, for they shall be watered by the flow from the sanctuary. Their fruit shall serve for food, and their leaves for medicine."

The responsorial psalm picks up the theme of the City of God and the life-giving waters that feed it. These waters gladden the City of God and the dwelling place of the Most High. The psalm speaks to the glory of the Lord and His power. “God is our refuge and our strength.” This idea is repeated with the phrase, “The LORD of hosts is with us; our stronghold is the God of Jacob.” God comes to our aid if we trust in Him. “Therefore we fear not.” Jesus repeatedly told His disciples and, by extension us, to not be afraid. In another part of this psalm we hear, “Be still and know that I am God! I am exalted among the nations, exalted on the earth.” If we truly know God, we will trust in Him and have the peace that Jesus promised. “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give it to you. Do not let your hearts be troubled or afraid.” (John 14:27)

St. Paul in his letter to the Corinthians takes the imagery pertaining to the temple one step further. Here we learn that we are God’s building, the temple of the Holy Spirit. Every building needs a foundation, and our foundation is Jesus Christ. Paul worked to build on that foundation and tells us Jesus is the only foundation a wise builder will use. Our society has removed itself from the firm foundation of faith and so it is becoming self-destructive.

With Jesus as our foundation, we are temples of God. The Holy Spirit dwells within us. As we learned from the readings for the 25th Sunday in Ordinary Time, we are just stewards of our lives. “[T]he ownership of any property makes its holder a steward of Providence, with the task of making it fruitful and communicating its benefits to others, first of all his family.” (CCC 2404) For this reason St. Paul tells us, “If anyone destroys God's temple, God will destroy that person; for the temple of God, which you are, is holy.” Take care of your holiness. Keep it clean.

In the reading from the gospel of St. John, Jesus “cleanses” the Temple, chasing out the merchants and animals that have profaned the Temple. His zeal for the Temple is one of the rare events mentioned in all four gospels. If we read this in light of the selection from Paul’s letter to the Corinthians we can see, allegorically, the signs of our stewardship and our sinfulness. From The ICSB: “the sanctuary is the undisciplined soul, filled, not with animals and merchants, but with earthly and senseless attachments. Christ must expel them with the whip of His divine doctrine to make spiritual worship possible.”

He is challenged by the Jews (usually meaning the scribes and pharisees), "What sign can you show us for doing this?" Here Jesus foretells His death and Resurrection: "Destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up." Of course the Jews did not understand, as they never seemed to grasp the essence of any of Jesus’ teachings (even many of His followers could neither understand nor accept His teaching on the Bread of Life (John chapter 6)).

However, this is not only a lesson about Jesus’ body being the temple of God, but it is also a foretelling of the destruction of the temple in Jerusalem in about A.D. 70. The temple in Jerusalem was the place to worship God and offer sacrifices. Think about Jesus’ conversation with the Samaritan woman at the well. There, besides mentioning to her His promise of living water, Jesus tells her, “Believe me, woman, the hour is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem.” (John 4:21) Jesus was the ultimate sacrifice, once for all, obviating the need for the temple and its animal sacrifices. It is our personal sacrifices that we make out of love for Jesus that unite us to Him and His sacrifice. There is no love without sacrifice and there is no sacrifice without love.

After His Resurrection the disciples remember this incident “and they came to believe the Scripture and the word Jesus had spoken.” Just like the disciples on the road to Emmaus after Jesus’ Resurrection, His followers had yet to fully understand the connections between the myriad prophecies in Scripture that pertained to the Messiah. We have the benefit of the Church’s Magisterium, beginning with the insights of the Apostles after the Pentecost and the early Church fathers. And still many do not understand or refuse to believe.

It is important to understand our stewardship of our bodies. Article 364 of the Catechism of the Catholic Church explains that our bodies are: “animated by a spiritual soul, and it is the whole human person that is intended to become, in the body of Christ, a temple of the Spirit. ... [we are] obliged to regard [our] body as good and to hold it in honor since God has created it and will raise it up on the last day.” Therefore we must treat our bodies with respect and not engage in profane, indecent, and vulgar acts. As Jesus so often told us, we must do the will of the Father as summarized in the Greatest Commandment. “And he said to him, ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all of your soul, and with all your mind. ... And a second is like it, You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’” (Matthew 22:37-39)