Commentary
Saturday, 11/9/2020, The Dedication of the Lateran Basilica
Wade in the Water
First Reading Commentary: Ezekiel 47:1-2, 8-9, 12
God’s Holy Water purifies all things. In today’s prophecy, Ezekiel finds this out by being led by an angel to wade in the water, Ezekiel 47:3, flowing from the temple. The angel tells him that the water flows to the ocean and purifies all things allowing every living creature that can multiply to live. The angel also tells Ezekiel that every month, the trees shall bear fresh fruit for food and that the leaves of the trees shall be used for medicine.
What Ezekiel experiences is the very same vision that John has in Revelation 22:1-3. Ezekiel is shown the Kingdom of Heaven and the purifying grace from God which is available to us all.
But we do not have to wait until we get to the Kingdom to experience this purifying grace. We experience it at Baptism as the stain of original sin is washed away from us and we are baptized in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit with holy water. We experience a purifying grace each time that we go to Confession. As we are granted absolution for our sins, we are washed clean once again and our sins are nailed to the cross with Christ. In both sacraments, we die to sin and are born to a new life.
Although holy water is not used in the Sacrament of Confession, it is often used to bless things. Today, we celebrate the Dedication of the Lateran Basilica, which is the Mother Church of Catholics worldwide and the Cathedral of Rome, and like all Catholic churches; it has been blessed with holy water. Objects which are used for liturgical services and other religious articles such as statues become sacramentals when blessed. See the Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC), articles 1667 to 1672 for more detailed information on sacramentals.
Catholics usually bless themselves with holy water when they enter and leave church or a chapel. Some Catholics take holy water home for private use. Whenever holy water is used, it is a reminder of our baptism. In baptism, we are called to be a blessing and we are called to bless others. (CCC 1669)
In Revelation, John witnesses the tree of life which is really the same thing that Ezekiel sees in the fruit trees whose leaves shall not fade and whose fruit shall not fail. Everyone who enters the Kingdom will be fed by the tree of life and will drink the purifying waters for all eternity.
There Is Only One True Foundation
Second Reading Commentary: 1 Corinthians 3:9c-11, 16-17
Once again, Paul is reminding us of two important facts when he says that we are God’s building. 1- The Church is the people and therefore, each of us is a temple. 2- Each of us is an individual part of the Mystical Body of Christ and therefore, God is within us because God dwells in His temple.
Paul said that because of God’s grace, he laid a foundation like a master builder. Paul was talking about his ministry of taking the Gospel to the Gentiles. In doing so, he was laying a foundation with the Gentiles for building the Church. Each person that came into the Church as a result of Paul’s ministry became another part of the foundation. As they began to spread the Word themselves, the foundation became stronger and stronger and the Church continued to grow.
The building of the Church continues today as we are all called to evangelize but Paul warns that we must be careful because no one can lay a foundation other than the one that is there. Paul is telling us that if we spread a word which is not consistent with the Gospel in its completeness, we are laying a foundation which is not consistent with the Word of Christ. Instead, we are proclaiming a false teaching which makes us false prophets.
Paul gives us another warning when he reminds us once again that each of us is a part the Mystical Body of Christ. Paul tells us that we are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells within us and Paul says, “If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy that person; for the temple of God, which you are, is holy.”
For this reason, the deadly sin of lust is one of the devil’s favorite weapons against us. Paul is telling us that anytime we submit to the deadly sin of lust and commit sins of impurity with our bodies, we destroy God’s temple and God will destroy us.
When we look around the world today and witness the growing lack of morality, especially among our young people, and the violence and hatred among people, it becomes ever more urgent for us to remember today’s message from Paul. We must pray for ourselves and each other asking the Spirit to strengthen us with His virtuous gifts because all of us are attacked with the temptations of the evil one and virtually all of us give in.
Some people submit to the devil by loosing their respect for life. They fail to respect their own lives or the lives of others, including the unborn. If we commit suicide, we not only destroy a temple; we also break the Commandment; “Thou shall not kill.” This is also true for abortion or any other act which results in the destruction of a human life.
A question to consider in today’s society of mayhem and chaos: Do we destroy one of God’s temples with hatred and bigotry which may lead to hate crimes and violence even if there is no physical death? Think and then be very careful how you answer that question. Remember, Jesus said that if we do it for one of the least of His servants, we do it for Him. If that is true, the opposite is also true—if you do it to one of the least of His, you do it to Him.
By remembering Paul’s message and engaging in daily prayer, we can counter the devil’s temptations by remembering that we are temples of God and instead of giving into temptations, we can protect and preserve ourselves for the Kingdom.
Respect God’s House
Gospel Commentary: John 2:13-22
It is common courtesy to respect someone’s house when you visit it. There are certain things that you just don’t do—at least not without permission. You don’t go into someone’s refrigerator or put your feet up on the coffee table and you ask before you enter the bathroom. Today’s Gospel is about respecting God’s house.
Today, we hear John’s account of Jesus cleansing the temple. People had turned the temple area into a market place with money changers and people selling oxen, sheep and doves. Jesus made a whip out of cords and drove them all out and spilled the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables. Jesus told the people selling the doves to take them out of the temple. The doves were the offerings of the poor and the dove is also one of the symbols of the Holy Spirit. These facts about the dove suggest that the presence of doves being sold was an even greater offense and insult to Jesus.
Then Jesus said, “Stop making my Father’s house a marketplace.” Luke and Matthew tell us that Jesus said, “It is written, ‘My house shall be a house of prayer, but you have made it a den of thieves.’” Mark tells us that Jesus said virtually the same thing. It is worth noting here that there are many events that are covered in more than one of the four Gospels. But there are few events that are covered in all four Gospels. That fact is evidence that we should take to heart the Cleansing of the Temple and the messages that Jesus gives us in doing so with the utmost of importance.
What was so important about this temple that Jesus became so angry? After all, the people are the Church and not the building. Also, as we are told so many times, including today by Paul, that as a part of the Mystical Body, our bodies are temples. So why was Jesus so concerned about this building?
No matter how we choose to profess our faith, the building, that we call church or temple or synagogue or mosque, is the place that we gather together as one to profess our faith and worship our God. That is why we refer to it as God’s House and Jesus looked at the temple in the same way. We also have to keep in mind that during the time of Christ, under Jewish law originating in the book of Exodus, the temple was the dwelling place of the LORD and therefore a holy and sacred place. Refer to Exodus 40.
In all four of the Gospels about this event, Jesus is proclaiming His divinity. This causes the disciples to recall the words of Scripture, “Zeal for your house will consume me.” The Scripture comes from Psalm 69:10 where David laments over the fact that he is out casted by people, including his family, because of his love for the LORD’s house.
Obviously, these Jews who had turned the temple into a marketplace had no respect for the Lord's house. So, they asked Jesus for a sign for what He was doing. What they wanted was for Jesus to prove Himself as God which is the only thing that would give Him the authority to claim the temple as His Father’s House and act in such a way. To their challenge, Jesus said, “Destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up.” The Jews said, “This temple has been under construction for forty-six years, and you will raise it up in three days?”
The Jews clearly did not have faith in Jesus or understand what Jesus was talking about which was the temple of His own body which would be Resurrected on the third day after the crucifixion. After the Resurrection, the disciples remembered what Jesus had said on this day and they came to believe the Scripture and what Jesus had said.
But there is an even deeper meaning to what Jesus said. When we look at the New Jerusalem in Revelation 21:22, we see that there is no temple building because the Lord God Almighty together with the Lamb is the temple. Therefore, Jesus was warning us that those who destroy His temple here on earth will have no place in His temple in the Kingdom. But those who respect His temple here on earth will enter the temple in the Kingdom. Jesus was telling us to respect both our bodies as temples and the place that we go to worship God as His house—temple.
