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.
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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