Feast of the Dedication of the Lateran Basilica
9 November 2014
Rarely do we have a feast such as the Dedication of the Lateran Basilica replacing the Sunday celebration. The liturgical tradition of the Church places a lot of importance on dedication of churches. For instance, when it is the anniversary of the dedication of a Cathedral church (the principal church of the diocese which has the chair of the Bishop), it can be celebrated as a solemnity on a Sunday. The Basilica of St John Lateran is the cathedral church of the Diocese of Rome – the mother of all churches. Why do we celebrate the dedication of a church? In the Catholic tradition, the church building is not just a hall for fellowship. It is a sacred space. It is the abode of God, where the presence of God is made very tangible by the presence of the Eucharist. The church is the focus point of the believing community – the Body of Christ. Symbolically the church itself is the body of Christ.
This is the major theme of the gospel narration of today: where Jesus replaces the Temple of Jerusalem with his own body.
Replacement-agenda of the Gospel of John
In the Gospel of John, I see a consistent replacement-agenda. Jesus replaces the old with the new. He replaces the Jewish traditional symbols of God and His reign with the presence of God in his very person:
- In the beginning of John 2, at the wedding at Cana, it is said that “there were six stone water jars standing there, meant for the ablutions that are customary among the Jews” (Jn 2:6). And they were empty. Jesus fills them up to the brim with the finest wine – a symbol of celebration because God is here in the presence of God. He brings about fullness to the Jewish ritualistic empty religion.
- In his conversation with Nicodemus, who, though “a leader of the Jews” was in the dark as regards the core of his faith, Jesus challenges his knowledge of religious truth: “You are the Teacher of Israel, and you do not know these things!” (3:10). Jesus invites him to experience the love of God that has been made visible in the person of Jesus (3:17).
- In his conversation with the Samaritan woman, Jesus replaces the Holy Mountain. He ushers-in the hour when people will worship the Father neither in Gerizim (where the temple of the Samaritans stood) nor in Jerusalem, but in spirit and truth (4:21-23).
- In his encounter with the man lying under the porticos of the Pool of Bethesda for 38 years, Jesus replaces the powers attributed to the stirring of the water to his own person. The cure was straightforward without any mediation: “Get up, pick up your sleeping-mat and walk around” (5:1-15).
- Through the multiplication of loaves, Jesus replaces the Jewish Passover Lamb (6:4) with his flesh (6:51). It is not by chance that the narration begins with the reference: “The time of the Jewish Passover was near” (6:4).
- In the case of the woman caught in adultery, Jesus offers a new dimension to the Law of Moses (8:1-11). He invites those ‘righteous’ men who brought her to be stoned to death, to imitate the righteousness of God: compassion.
- In John 9, Jesus replaces the Sabbath (see also Jn 5). And the list can go on!
Centrality of the Temple in Jerusalem
In the gospel text of today, Jesus replaces the Temple with his own body: “Destroy this Temple, and in three days I will raise it up… But he was speaking of the Temple that was his body” (Jn 2:19-21). This was a very subversive statement. The Temple occupied a central place in the history of Israel. In fact, the history of Israel is simply enmeshed with the history of the Temple. Right from the time of Moses and Joshua with the Tent of Meeting; through the time of the First Temple built by King Solomon; through the destruction and the subsequent rebuilding of the Second Temple under King Darius at the edict of King Cyrus; and through the embellishments added to it by King Herod just prior to the time of Jesus, the Temple was at the centre of the Jewish identity. No wonder, every invading king would first target the Temple.
And it is this Temple that Jesus now wants to be destroyed. How dare he?
From the point of view of his hearers, either Jesus has gone totally out of his mind or he is indeed a revolutionary who wants to take over Jerusalem.
It is about the heart. It is about a relationship.
Yet, Jesus has his own agenda. He wants to take over the hearts of people. He had to enact that agenda so dramatically in the gospel story of today! His heart burns with zeal!
The Temple – which, for the people of Israel, represented the presence of the Lord God – has now become redundant. God is here and now. In the person of Jesus. There is no need for the money changers to assist the people to offer the shekel in the temple; there is no need of the pigeon-seller to facilitate the sacrifice in the temple. Just turn around, look at him: the Word that has taken flesh (Jn 1:14). And believe in him as the Son of God. By the way, in the Gospel of John faith is not a static creed as an abstract noun. Faith is a verb indicating an action, a movement towards the person of Jesus who has the same nature of God. And in this active faith is wholeness, wellness, fullness of life (Jn 20:31).
We can look at the feast of today as a historical commemoration – of the dedication of a church unknown to most of us. We can also listen to the gospel text of today as a historical narrative: Jesus violently chased out the moneychangers from the temple. And we continue to guard the structures of our own religion – as an institution, with our canons and hierarchy, with our nitty-gritty details of liturgy and traditions, with our fears and insecurities, and with our game of in-group and out-group . Why don’t we welcome Jesus today to cleanse this temple too? Are we ready to be “surprised by God” (Pope Francis) who just stands knocking at the door of our hearts, who wants to build an intimate relationship with us.
Yes, it is a matter of the heart. Yes, the core of our faith is the experience of God in Jesus.