The Sánchez Archives DEDICATION OF THE LATERAN BASILICA Year B

By
Patricia Datchuck Sánchez

Holy Places

EZEKIEL 47:1-2, 8-9, 12
1 CORINTHIANS 3:9-11
JOHN 2:13-22

Every civilization has its sacred sites. Each culture venerates certain places and sets these apart as holy. Throughout human history, there is evidence that people worshipped at natural sites as well as at sites specifically constructed for ritualistic purposes. Artifacts from ages past attest to the fact that the ancients reverenced trees, stones, bodies of water and other natural objects such as mountains, promontories, stars, sun, moon etc. The association on the same site of four natural elements, e.g. mountain, tree, stone and water, were supposed to constitute a sacred whole or a quarternity of perfection, which was thought to be a sacred landscape or geography similar to the world of the gods. Such sites, in many civilizations were the initial point of departure for pilgrimages or for the establishment of places of worship.

Mountains, in particular, were a favorite locale for many ancient cults. The psychological basis for the mountain-based cults was rooted in the belief that mountains were close to the sky and could serve as a “heavenly ladder” for drawing nearer to the gods. In some cultures, sacred sites for worship were artificially recreated; stones were piled high or earth was mounded to form a high holy place. Many civilizations constructed elaborate tower temples such as the ziggurats of the ancient Babylonians and the pyramidal temples of Cambodia, Java, India, and pre-Columbian Mexico. Incredibly well built, these sacred pyramids have survived for thousands of years; in their majestic enormity, they continue to bear witness to humankind’s innate awareness of its finitude and dependence upon a greater power.

Eventually, the sacred tombs and pyramid structures evolved into shrines, temples and mosques with specific architectural patterns. Many such edifices were oriented toward the rising sun so that its rays would bathe the holy place in light at sunrise. For more than a thousand years, ca. 950 B.C.E. to 70 C.E., with a brief lapse from 587 to 515 B.C.E., Judaism’s most sacred place was the temple in Jerusalem. First constructed by Solomon, the temple was the site of prayers, sacrifice and religious formation. Gradually, however, a new current of thought emerged as regards the temple. As Leon Xavier Leon-Dufour (Dictionary of Biblical Theology, Geoffrey Chapman, London: 1973) explained, the destruction of the temple and the experience of the exile contributed toward the evolution of a more spiritual worship, corresponding to the demands of the “religion of the heart” as preached by the Deuteronomist (6:4 ff.) and Jeremiah (31:31 ff). Toward the end and after the exile, certain prophets warned against an excessive attachment to a temple of stone (Isaiah 66:1ff) while advising that poor and contrite hearts were better adapted to house the spiritual presence of God.

Once Christianity emerged from its Jewish roots and matrix, it was understood that Jesus had replaced the temple as the sacred place where believers could encounter God. In the wake of Jesus’ death and resurrection, Christians became aware that they themselves constituted a new temple, built on the cornerstone of Jesus (1 Corinthians 3:10-17; 2 Corinthians 6:16; Ephesians 2:20ff). While this awareness continues to pervade the faith of Jesus’ disciples, sacred places are still being erected; their sacredness, however, is not ontological but derivative in character; in other words, the place becomes sacred by virtue of the community that gathers there in Jesus’ name. One of these sacred sites, the basilica of St. John Lateran is celebrated today.

The term Lateran refers to the group of buildings on the Monte Celio in Rome, viz., the basilica, the baptistry and the palace which was the residence of the popes during the Middle Ages. Originally known as the Church of the Savior, the first basilica was probably a fourth century C.E. adaptation by Constantine of the palace of the Laterani, a noble Roman family. Through the centuries, the basilica suffered damage from fire, earthquake, war and neglect. A series of reconstructions enabled the Lateran to survive and to serve as the seat of judgment and center of government of the Church until the pontificate of Innocent III (1798-1216), who moved the papal registers and locus of authority to the Vatican. Site of several general or ecumenical councils, the Lateran remains the particular cathedral of the bishop of Rome. Being one of the four papal basilicas, the Lateran church has a “holy door” which is opened every twenty-fifth year to mark the beginning of celebrations of a holy or jubilee year. The feast of the dedication of the Lateran basilica has been observed on this day since the twelfth century C.E.

EZEKIEL 47:1-2, 8-9, 12

Ezekiel, son of Buzi, was priest and prophet, mystic, poet and visionary during a turbulent period of Judah’s history, viz., the years shortly before and during the exile in Babylon. At times, he spoke in an “abnormal” manner and on occasion he did “abnormal” things so as to shock “normal” people out of the rut of their complacency and mediocrity. Because of his exotic style and eccentric behavior, armchair diagnosticians have suggested that Ezekiel suffered from a variety of ailments, e.g. aphasia, catatonic seizures, hallucinations, etc. However, it would appear that Ezekiel was simply so attuned to the needs of his contemporaries that drastic times seemed to call for drastic measures and he was quick to comply. True to his name, Ezekiel (“God Strengthens”) the prophet sought to communicate that strength in two ways; first, he labored to make his people aware of their failings; then he shored up their hopes when that awareness led some to lose heart.

Cognizant of its importance in the life of his contemporaries, Ezekiel used this temple of Jerusalem as a theological symbol with which to describe the relationship of Israel and Yahweh. When God’s people were unfaithful, Ezekiel admonished them with a vision of the glory of the Lord leaving the temple and departing from the city of Jerusalem (Ezekiel 10:18-23). When Judah fell to the Babylonians and their temple was destroyed, Ezekiel interpreted these events as God’s just punishment for the sins of the people. While in exile, Ezekiel offered his suffering contemporaries the hope that God would forgive and restore them. In an extended vision (Ezekiel 40:1-48:35) the prophet detailed a description of a new temple to which the glory of God would return (Ezekiel 43: 1-12), as a sign that the breach between Yahweh and Israel had been healed.

In the excerpted pericope which constitutes today’s first reading, that temple is described as a source of blessing and power from which a great river flows forth, bringing new life and healing to everything in its path.

A powerful and eloquent symbol, water was featured throughout Israel’s history as a tool of God. At creation, it was the featured locus of God’s creative activity (Genesis 1:22). When corrupted by human sin, all of creation was thought to be cleansed by the purifying water of the flood (Genesis 9). When God chose a people with whom to enter into covenant, those chosen were led from slavery to freedom through the waters of the Sea of Reeds. When the prophets called their people to be attentive to God, they compared the word of God to the rainwater that transforms the desert with flowers and fruit (Isaiah 55:10-11, Amos 8:11ff) and the teaching of God to life-giving water (Isaiah 55:1, Sirach 15:3, 24:25-31). Apart from God, humankind is like parched, waterless earth (Psalm 143:6), but with God, believers flourish like a watered garden (Isaiah 58:11).

E. L. Allen (“The Book of Ezekiel”, The Interpreter’s Bible, Abingdon Press, New York: 1956) has suggested that believers would do well to dwell for a moment on this piece of symbolism. Like the water flowing from the temple in Ezekiel’s vision, each of us needs a center of renewal, however there is often difficulty in maintaining it. How many revivals of religion have been like a stream which runs ever more shallow as it goes on its way! Just as economists cite the law of diminishing returns, there seems to be a similar phenomenon in the spiritual life. All too often, creative impulses surge and then die down; inspiration yields to routine and God’s creative spirit becomes bogged down by human tendencies toward staid institutionalism.

Today’s feast and Ezekiel’s vision remind us that the dynamic presence of God among us and within us challenges both the staid and the routine to remain open and supple; only then will we be able to recognize and respond to that sacred presence whenever, however and wherever it is made manifest.

1 CORINTHIANS 3:9-11

In the years immediately following Jesus’ death and resurrection, the first believers in Jesus continued to frequent the temple in Jerusalem; recall Luke’s reference to Peter and John “going up to the temple area for the three o’clock hour of prayer” (Acts 3:1). As time passed, however, the Jesus movement began to define itself as rooted in, yet apart from, its Jewish matrix. Several factors contributed toward the eventual separation of Judaism and Christianity, viz., (1) a growing and fuller understanding that Jesus’ sacrificial death forever obviated the sacrificial system of the temple; (2) an awareness that a new covenant had been forged through Jesus’ saving blood, a covenant which embraced all peoples; (3) the belief that Jesus was indeed the promised messiah through whom the era of salvation had finally dawned; (4) the destruction of the temple in 70 C.E.; (5) the final rift between the synagogue and church which occurred in the mid eighties C.E.

With no temple or synagogue in which to convene, the early Christians met together in their homes for prayer, Eucharist and spiritual formation. Since most homes were not sufficiently large enough to accommodate all the believers in the area, house churches abounded. In Corinth, for example, there were at least four different house churches which Paul addressed in his correspondence (see 1 Corinthians 1:10-16). Unfortunately, certain rivalries sprang up among these different groups because some preferred one presider over another. Aware that such rivalry would damage the unity of the church, Paul acted quickly to remedy the situation.

Today’s second reading is an excerpt from Paul’s plea to the Corinthian Christians that “there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and in the same purpose” (1 Corinthians 1:10). Rather than nurse their preferences for one preacher over another, or one house church over another, or one interpretation of doctrine over another, Paul advised the believers in Corinth to remember that their allegiance and loyalties should rest solely with Christ. Those who labor for Christ, whether it be Apollos, Kephas or Paul (1 Corinthians 1:12) are “co-workers” (v. 9) among whom there should be no spirit of competition but only of cooperation. Those among whom the co-workers labor are to think of themselves, not as competing entities but as God’s own field and/or building (v. 9). Instead of working at cross purposes, Christian disciples are called to work together, careful to remain true to their one foundation who is Jesus Christ.

In the eighteen months he had spent in Corinth (Acts 18:11), Paul had worked diligently to lay a firm foundation. As William Barclay (“Corinthians”, The Daily Study Bible, The St. Andrew Press, Edinburgh: 1975) explained, wherever he went for the sake of the gospel, Paul laid the same foundation, viz., the proclamation of the facts about and the offer of Jesus Christ. It was Paul’s tremendous privilege to introduce people to Jesus in whom alone can be found forgiveness for past sins, strength for the present, and hope for the future.

Paul and all others who are called to the service of the gospel are to build upon this sure foundation. Only then will the living temple which is the church remain a vital and authentic witness to the good news of salvation and to the presence of the God which gives it life, meaning and purpose.

JOHN 2:13-22

When Jesus and his disciples traveled to Jerusalem to celebrate Judah’s major religious feasts, the temple they visited was still undergoing the extensive renovation which Herod had begun in 20-19 B.C.E. Jesus was crucified years before the project was completed in 63-64 C.E.; within six to seven years of its completion, the temple was destroyed by Titus’ troops in their efforts to squelch the Jewish revolt which began in 66 C.E.

Jesus’ actions in the temple shortly before Passover in 27-28 C.E. could be understood as a dramatization of the fact that the messianic era had arrived. Both Malachi (3:14) and Zechariah (14:1-21) had envisioned the inauguration of the age of the Messiah in terms of the Lord “suddenly coming to the temple to purify and to cleanse.” On that day, they had prophesied, “no trader would be seen in the house of the Lord.” Jesus’ bold actions in entering the temple and expelling the merchants made it clear from the outset of the fourth gospel that his would be a ministry that would overthrow the “tables” of the Jewish law and cast out the “merchants” of hypocrisy, inauthentic cult and legalism. As the Johannine evangelist would continue to explain throughout the course of his gospel, Jesus would replace the former dispensation and system of worship with the new and living temple of his body. To those who had become alienated from God by an over-emphasis on the minutiae of the law, Jesus would extend an invitation to share in the intimate relationship which he himself enjoyed with God. Jesus’ reference to the temple as “my Father’s house” and the citation from Psalm 69, “Zeal for your house consumes me”, underscored the special relationship with God which Jesus’ presence on earth made available to all believers. Quoted no less than 27 times in the fourth gospel, “my Father’s house” took on added significance when Jesus used the same term in speaking of the kingdom of eternal life (14:2) which was opened to all by Jesus’ saving words and works.

In narrating the fury with which Jesus acted, the evangelist recalled for his readers the words of Jeremiah who attributed the destruction of the temple to the evildoing of the people (Jeremiah 7-14). In the same vein of thought, the authors of Tobit (14:7-10) and Zechariah (14:20ff) had prophesied about an ideal temple in which no commerce would be tolerated.

The significance of the temple cleansing can be understood by way of comparison with the sign of the wedding feast at Cana which immediately preceded it (John 2:1-12). Just as Jesus had replaced the water with wine, so also would he replace the temple and its liturgy with himself. Also significant is the fact that the fourth evangelist (unlike the Synoptics) chose to relate Jesus’ cleansing of the temple with the prophecy regarding its destruction. Two favorite Johannine literary techniques, e.g. double entendre and misunderstanding, are illustrated in Jesus’ statement, “Destroy this temple...” (v. 21). Those who heard Jesus make this proclamation misunderstood him; they thought Jesus was speaking of the earthly temple. Addressing their lack of understanding, the evangelist explained that Jesus was referring to himself as temple and as the “place” where believers would thenceforth encounter God. To further clarify his point that it was Jesus himself and not the Jerusalem temple which was referred to, the evangelist changed the synoptic reference, “and I will build it up”, to “I will raise it up”, using the same technical term as that which described Jesus’ resurrection.

Like the Jerusalem temple, churches, mosques and other holy places, which are built of stone and mortar, will crumble and fall but the presence of Jesus remains. Gathered together in his name and empowered by his presence, the community of believers constitutes a living temple, a holy people, a holy place.

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