Today is the feast of the Dedication of the Lateran Basilica in Rome. It is the highest-ranking of the four major basilicas in Rome and the cathedral of the Diocese of Rome, the official ecclesiastical seat of the Holy Father, the Bishop of Rome. It is the oldest church in the West, built during the time of Constantine. This feast became a universal celebration in honor of the archbasilica, the ecclesiastical mother church and the mother of all churches in Rome and throughout the world, as a sign of love for and union with the See of Peter.
In the Gospel, Jesus enters the temple in Jerusalem. He finds people selling oxen, sheep, and doves, along with money changers operating in the outer courts. He makes a whip of cords, overturns the tables, scatters the coins, and orders them to stop turning His Father’s house into a marketplace. Many of us don’t want to imagine Jesus as the lash-out-in-anger type of guy, yet others might find themselves thanking God that we are not the only ones who get mad or raise our voices at our family members or friends.
More Than an Act of Anger
Although Jesus is angry, His anger is directed at something beyond the temple itself. The external behaviors that He condemns point to what is happening in their faith and their belief in God. The Temple in Jerusalem was understood as the place of God’s living presence in the world. That is why Jesus is placing the focus not on the building but on Himself, the temple of God’s presence in the world. The church building is there to help us express our identity as a people of faith, called to worship God through Christ in the Spirit.
Called to Be Temples of God's Loving Presence
In the Gospel, Jesus identifies Himself as the temple of God in the world, the one through whom God is present. This is the heart of our own baptismal calling: to become temples of God through whom God’s loving presence touches the lives of others. As believers, if our worship is to be authentic, we need to do some introspection and ask ourselves: Are we committed to caring for the temple within us, making our relationship with God a priority, or have we succumbed to distractions that pull us in different directions? In what ways can God’s grace come into our hearts to overturn the tables and help us trust Him when our Christian life is messy and chaotic?
As individuals and as a community of believers, we look to the Lord to help us be the place of God’s presence in the world, to be the Church in that sense. We are called to live in a way that reflects the wonderful identity we all share. The Lord needs us to make His loving and merciful presence tangible in the world today as faithful and committed disciples.
