Tag: Jerusalem Temple

• 1 Corinthians 6:19: Temples of the Spirit

  
  

  1 Corinthians 6:19: Temples of the Spirit

  Tuesday, June 17, 2025

  

  Paul tells the Corinthians and he tells us: Don’t you know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and who was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourselves but to God. The faithful want to believe that Christ acts within where the Spirit animates the body and encourages the soul.

  Jesus tells his followers: Tear down this Temple, and in three days I will build it again. (John 2:13-25) The faithful misunderstand his meaning, but still Jesus abides with them, nurturing the Spirit, sustaining the heart.

  In 1 Kings Chapter 6, we find a description of Solomon’s Temple, built to replace the Ark of the Covenant the faithful carried through the desert on their journey to The Promised Land. The description of the building as the permanent Temple is full of detail. With the tall cedar timbers, the Temple would have smelled truly divine; the gold covered surfaces and sacred utensils would have dazzled the eye. It took seven years to build this temple, and it is written in verse 7 that there was no noise of iron striking stone because the masons brought the blocks ready-hewn. What a peace-filled space this must have been, even during the years of construction.

  

  These readings have a connection that we reflect on today. With God’s loving providence and care, the desert Ark becomes the city Temple. With Christ’s compassionate mercy and burning justice, the Temple of stone becomes the living Temple within each of us. With the Spirit’s healing transformation and nurturing mercy, the Temple that Christ rebuilds in three days becomes our very essence and nature.

  Paul tells the Corinthians and he tells us: Don’t you know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and who was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourselves but to God. The faithful want to believe that Christ acts within where the Spirit animates the body and encourages the soul. Let us determine to listen to this voice that calls us to union and wholeness.

  Today we pray Psalm 84 and we repeat verse 2 as an antiphon. I long to be in the Lord‘s Temple.
  With my whole being I sing for joy to the living God.

  Tomorrow we conclude our reflections on the names God uses when calling us. 

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  Images from: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Lebanon_cedar_forest.jpg and http://padreperegrino.org/2017/05/26/ascension-2017/

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  June 17, 2025

  1 Kings 6, cedar, Jerusalem Temple, John 2:13-25, Psalm 84, union

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• 1 Kings 8: Dedication

  
  

  1 Kings 8: Dedication

  Thursday, May 25, 2023

  

  In this chapter of 1 Kings we see the beautiful temple built by Solomon dedicated to God.  We read Solomon’s prayer, said in the presence of the whole community of Israel. And we see a king and a people commit themselves to living a life as their God would have them live it: in accordance with the terms of the covenant first struck with Abraham. We might want to reflect today on how we dedicate ourselves to God, and to the terms of the covenant into which we ourselves have entered.

  As he begins his prayer, Solomon intones, Lord, God of Israel, there is no God like you in heaven above or on earth below; you keep your covenant of kindness with your servants who are faithful to you with your whole heart. Later he prays, May your eyes watch day and night over this temple, the place where you have decreed you shall be honored; may you heed the prayer which I, your servant, offer in this place. Listen to the petitions of your servant and of your people Israel which they offer in this place.  Listen from your heavenly dwelling and grant pardon.

  The beautiful part of this story arrives with the New Testament when God’s people become the temple through Christ, the priest and intercessor, and when we fully realize the magnitude and depth of God’s compassion and mercy, his willingness – even eagerness – to forgive our waywardness.

  From the MAGNIFICAT Morning Prayer: In my Father’s house there are many dwelling places.   If there were not, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? (John 14:2) And from the mini-reflection: In the house of Jesus’ Father, the temple, there were many courts and rooms provided for the use of different groups of people in their desire to enter God’s presence and worship him in the place where he dwelt.  According to John’s Gospel, which we read during Easter, Jesus is the new and eternal Temple where God dwells among us.  In his heart, opened to all peoples on the cross, there is a place for everyone who seeks God.

  Have we fully dedicated our lives to the service of God? Have we established the rituals and the offerings? Do we intone our own prayer morning, noon and night? If we say we are dedicated and committed, to what, to whom, why, how, when and where? If we cannot answer these questions quickly and with certainty, we may want to look again at the care with which Solomon and his people build and dedicate a place to a God who is goodness itself, a God who loves and saves. If we answer these questions quickly and surely, let us take this moment in this present Easter season to re-dedicate ourselves to this gracious and marvelous God.

  From the Magnificat Morning Intercessions:

  You are in our midst; your name we bear: make us a fit dwelling place for your love.

  You have made us temples of your Spirit: cleanse our hearts and make of them a house of prayer.

  You have chosen us as your resting place for ever: grant us peace in your presence.

  Amen.

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  A favorite from April 30, 2010.

  Cameron, Peter John. “Prayer for the Morning.” MAGNIFICAT. 30.4 (2010). Print.  

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  May 25, 2023

  covenant, God’s dwelling place, Jerusalem Temple, John 14:2, King Solomon

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• John 2:13-22: Clearing Out

  
  

  Easter Monday, April 5, 2021

  

  John 2:13-22

  Clearing Out

  Lent is a time for introspection, examination and evaluation. Lent is a time for starting over, beginning again, for clearing out. Lent is a time for deep preparation, intense consideration and profound joy.

  Easter is a time of celebration, regeneration, and commitment. Easter is a time for union, inclusion, and invitation. Easter Is a feast of eight days that rejoice in the journey we have made with Christ to Jerusalem. During this Easter Week we will explore our journey of hope and joy, and the commitment we make to continue our journey beyond the holiday.

  Jesus travels to Jerusalem to celebrate Passover and when he enters the Temple area he found those who were selling oxen and sheep and doves, and the money changers seated at their tables.

  Jesus does not delude himself about who and what he sees. He does not explain away or excuse the corruption he finds.

  He made a scourge of cords, and drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and the oxen; and he poured out the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables; and to those who were selling the doves he said, “Take these things away; stop making My Father’s house a place of business.

  Jesus brings salvation to any who welcome their own redemption. He speaks in terms his listeners do not understand.

  Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” The Jews then said, “It took forty-six years to build this temple, and will you raise it up in three days?” But he was speaking of the temple of his body.

  Christ calls to each of us that we might follow. The Spirit guides each of us that we might go. God protects each if us so that we might clear out, renew and begin again.

  So when he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered that he said this; and they believed the Scripture and the word which Jesus had spoken.

  As we continue our Easter journey, let us consider the many paths we might take to achieve our own clearing out and redemption.

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  For another Noontime reflection on these verses, enter the words Clearing Out the Temple into the blog search bar and explore, and use the Amazing Paths link to a Microsoft Word ® document on that post or the link here amazing-paths to reflect on the many ways of return that God offers us in in our lifetime journey. 

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  April 5, 2021

  cleansing, corruption, Jerusalem Temple

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