God's Building - God's Temple

Homily for the Feast of the Dedication of St. John Lateran

Most feast days celebrate events in the life of Christ. Others are dedicated to apostles or martyrs. Today’s feast, however, celebrates a building and an event pertaining to it: The Dedication of the Lateran Basilica, the Cathedral Church of Rome, the mother church of all churches in the world.

This feast speaks of the importance of church buildings for us and for our faith. They are where we gather to pray and worship, to engage in rituals and sacraments, where we share our faith through word and song, and express our beliefs through art and design. We invest our time and resources into the care of these buildings, and their walls are filled with memories of holidays and special occasions. Here we mark life’s significant moments, from baptism and weddings to funerals and memorials.

We identify with the Lateran Basilica as the mother church, even though it has no more permanence than any of our churches. Most of us have never even been there. Perhaps this is a good reminder that there is more to a church building than how long it stands. More important is what it stands for. The Church stands for us: God’s people. As Paul teaches the Corinthians, “You are God’s building… You are the temple of God… The Spirit of God dwells in you. What makes church buildings holy is us, God’s people, in whom God’s Spirit dwells.

The Gospel text for today recounts the time when Jesus became angry when he saw how merchants and money-changers were making his Father’s house into a marketplace. The temple building was meant to be a holy place for God’s people, not a place for profiteering and exploitation. Jesus shared Ezekiel’s vision of the temple as a place of nourishment, refreshment, and abundant life for all. So, Jesus gave himself – destroyed and raised in three days – to be the temple of life for us all. Redeemed by his death and resurrection, we are members of his body, of his holy temple – the temple of God. The name of the mother church of all churches actually sums up what this particular Basilica means: “The Archbasilica Cathedral of the Most Holy Savior and of Saints John the Baptist and John the Evangelist.”

Participating in the Eucharist and partaking of Christ’s Body and Blood, we are renewed in his spirit as members of his body. We in turn make this place holy because in us the spirit of God dwells. In Christ God keeps us and all our churches holy.