Commentary: It might seem odd that today we celebrate the dedication of a church building in Rome. But the Church of St. John Lateran is no ordinary church. It was first built and dedicated in the 4th century. It has since served as the cathedral church for the Pope and, thus, has been called the "mother of all the world's churches." In commemoration of the dedication of this church, we read today about the Jerusalem Temple, which foreshadowed the establishment of the Church by Jesus. God ordained that a magnificent temple be erected as the central place of worship of Him by the Jews. For centuries, this temple in Jerusalem was the central location for worship of God, including sacrifices, prayers, offerings, etc. In the first reading, we hear of a vision of Ezekiel in which he sees water flowing from the temple. This symbolizes the life-giving nature of the temple. The temple was where God dwelt among His people. Thus, the temple was where the people could come to commune with God and find the true life that He offers.
Commentary: When Jesus came, the temple in Jerusalem became unnecessary, since, as we will see in the Gospel, Jesus is the new temple. He is where we come to commune with God and find life. In fact, Jesus referred to himself as the "living water" when speaking with the Woman at the Well (see John 4:10, 13-14) and even said, "Whoever believes in me, as scripture says: 'Rivers of living water will flow from within him'" (John 7:38). Thus, Jesus fulfills Ezekiel's vision and invites us, as His followers, to join in being temples from which life-giving water will flow. Paul's words here to the Corinthians confirm that as believers we are temples of God. Jesus Christ Himself is our foundation and the Holy Spirit (God's very presence) dwells within each of us. As temples of God, we are sacred and holy. We are called then to live accordingly. Seeing ourselves as temples of God should cause us to live differently, recognizing we should turn away from anything that would defile God's temple.
Commentary: This famous scene of Jesus driving the money-changers out of the Temple can seem perplexing. Why did Jesus do that? We see here, first, that Jesus had righteous anger toward those who were taking advantage of people through dishonest exchange of goods. Jesus' indignation was not necessarily aimed strictly towards the sale of items at the Temple, but specifically towards the fact that they were taking advantage of people by offering unjust prices and giving outrageous exchange rates for currency being changed to the necessary form for the Temple tax. We see here that Jesus does not tolerate those who disrespect the place of worship designated by God. He also uses this situation to teach something profound about Himself and His mission. In saying, "Destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up," he was not speaking of the Jewish temple itself, but of His body. Thus, He revealed that He came to bring a new order of worship and to establish a new temple, bringing to fulfillment the old. The new temple is not a building but the very person of Jesus Christ Himself. This temple would be destroyed at the crucifixion and restored at the resurrection three days later. In fact, the Jewish temple in Jerusalem would be destroyed by the Romans not long after Jesus' life in A.D. 70 and has never been re-built. If you go to Jerusalem today, you can see where the temple once stood in all its glory and, then, you can walk not too far away and visit the Church of the Holy Sepulchre on the site of Jesus' death and resurrection. You can go into the empty tomb and see that the new temple still stands and lives and, thus, our worship is to be centered in Jesus in the Church, not in the old temple. He leads us into true worship of God, and, in fact, invites us to be temples of the Holy Spirit ourselves by virtue of our baptism into Christ.
Taking it Home:
Reflect on the fact that you are a temple of the Holy Spirit. God's very presence dwells within you! His presence also dwells in the Church, the Body of Christ, but that doesn't mean He only dwells in you when you are in a church. You, in fact, take the presence of God with you into the world. How does that affect the way you live your life and the choices you make every day?