As preached by Brother Luke
Holy Wisdom Church
In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit
The English language
often presents us with multiple meanings for the same word. Sometimes the
connections are not hard to discern, but at other times it can seem puzzling to say the least. Temple may seem obvious, a consecrated
space used for worship. It is also the flat part of either side of the head
between the forehead and the ear. How those relate may not be so obvious. The
fact that the ear pieces on a pair of glasses are
called temples is easier to figure out. How about a device in a loom for
keeping the cloth stretched? For Bible readers there may be less confusion. The
word temple is used 213 times!
Today we are given two scenes that are set in the temple in Jerusalem,
and both involve children. Our first scene is presented in Luke's gospel. When
Jesus says, "Didn't you know that I had to be in my father's house?"
the reference is to the Temple in Jerusalem where it
was understood that God dwelt. So this was an indirect way of Jesus saying that
he was God's son, as well as saying that it was natural for him to be with God,
his father, in his father's house. This statement left both Mary and Joseph bewildered, despite Mary's experience of the annunciation.
Our second scene,
the message of today's feast, is about Mary's Temple experience as a young
child. Mary enters the Temple where she will be brought up in preparation for
the role she will ultimately play in our salvation.
In these scenes we
are witnessing the child Jesus and the child Mary entering the place where God dwells. Their nurturing years will be connected to God in
both a physical and spiritual way. And by this festal celebration we are
encouraged to reflect on how we too can discover our connection to God in both
a physical and spiritual way.
But first we have to
turn around the image of our relation to the temple. Near
the end of Christ's ministry he spoke about tearing down the temple and
rebuilding it in three days. Of course he said this while responding to his
disciples comment about the Temple building, so it was not surprising that the
physical temple building is what they had in mind. Only later do we learn that
Jesus was referring to the temple of his body. And in an analogous way Mary is
referred to in the texts of this feast as the temple of God whom she bore.
So this image of the
temple embraces not only a physical temple building, in this case in Jerusalem, but the human body as well. But even in that image at
least two aspects also emerge: The physical body which, in Mary's case, bore
Jesus' physical body, but also the spiritual center of our being, the heart and
soul of every human being where God also resides.
This brings to mind
a phrase from a lenten hymn sung with Psalm 51 which says in part: "for at early
morning my spirit seeks your holy temple." And what temple is that? Might
it mean the temple where God dwells in each of us. A morning cup of coffee may
awaken our senses, but our "spirit" is searching deep
within our soul for the God who gives us life and guides our every step, if we
are alert to that divine presence.
So we come to church
to worship God who is found in this temple, but also to inspire us to recognize
and listen to the holy spirit that is found in the temple of our own hearts.
Christ is in our
midst!
