Saint John is his Gospel presents Jesus as our real Temple: “But the Temple he had spoken of was his Body” (John 2:21). The author of the Letter to the Hebrews mentions the same thing (see He 9).
- What is a temple?
A
temple is a place where we find three things: God, worshipers, and the action of worship.
A
Temple is a privileged place, where one can meet God directly, where
one can see Him, listen to Him and offer something to Him. A Temple is a place to dwell in, in
order to get closer to God.
-
Is it about any temple?
It
is about the Temple of Jerusalem. In this Temple, God in person was dwelling
and direct worship was possible.
-
How the Temple of Jerusalem was made?
The
Temple of Jerusalem is made at the image of the real Temple: Jesus.
We see it first with Moses who is instructed to build the temple at
the image of what he was offered to see in heaven (Exodus
25.9, 40 Acts 7:44, Hebrews 8:5). “Moses
was warned when he was about to build the tabernacle: “See to it
that you make everything according to the pattern shown you on the
mountain.” (He 8:5)
Saint
Paul says that God saw us in Him, conceived us in His Thoughts, before creation. “For
he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and
blameless in his sight, in love”
(Ephesians 1:4). We can say that God saw His Body, His Temple, from
all Eternity, before Creation.
We
can then say the following: when God sent us His Son He sent us our
Temple.
This
little baby (born in the manger) is your Temple, the place where you
are invited to dwell, for the rest of your life and for all your
eternity.
This
means that when we stop like the Magi in front of the little boy, in
the arms of his mother, we should be able to see much more than a
simple baby.
How
can we have this deeper vision, this penetration in the mystery of
this little boy? We really need the Holy Spirit in order to “see”
in Him our own final dwelling place.
How
many times saint Paul uses the word “in Christ”! In fact we need
to be “in Christ”, to dwell “in Him”.
Thank
you dear God, because you opened for us your Home... You want us to
dwell in You. You sent us our Temple, our final Mansion. This is such
an amazing Gift, an amazing plan for each one of us!
The
Magi saw deeper in this little baby. Therefore they offered Him:
Gold:
all the utensils in the Temple that dealt with God were made in Gold.
The little boy is God, being THE Temple, God dwelt in Him.
Incense:
the worship, praise, adoration and sacrifice in the Temple are
carried with incense, symbol of the prayer that ascends to God.
Myrrh:
relates to the victim that is offered to God: the body and soul of
Jesus, our real Temple.
I invite you to meditate and ponder (spend time) on the fact that, through the Incarnation, God, in the little Child Jesus God, is offering us our House and our Temple.
"Blessed are those you choose
and bring near to live in your courts!
We are filled with the good things of your House,
of your holy Temple."
(Psalm 65:4)
Yes, in Jesus, this little baby, we find plenty of "good things", we find all what we need. Here is a wonderful passage taken from saint John of the Cross, second book of the Ascent of the Mount Carmel. In the following amazing and unique passage, saint John of the Cross makes God the Father speak to each one of us who is seeking consolation, light, guidance and happiness:
"If
I have spoken all things to thee in My Word, Which is My Son, and I have no
other word, what answer can I now make to thee, or what can I reveal to thee
which is greater than this? Set thine eyes on Him alone, for in Him I have
spoken and revealed to thee all things, and in Him thou shalt find yet more
than that which thou askest and desirest. For thou askest locutions and
revelations, which are the part; but if thou set thine eyes upon Him, thou
shalt find the whole; for He is My complete locution and answer, and He is all
My vision and all My revelation; so that I have spoken to thee, answered thee,
declared to thee and revealed to thee, in giving Him to thee as thy brother,
companion and master, as ransom and prize. For since that day when I descended
upon Him with My Spirit on Mount Tabor, saying: "This is My beloved
Son, in Whom I am well pleased; hear ye Him" (Mt 17:5), I have left off all these manners
of teaching and answering, and I have entrusted this to Him.
Hear Him; for I
have no more faith to reveal, neither have I any more things to declare. For,
if I spake aforetime, it was to promise Christ; and, if they enquired of Me,
their enquiries were directed to petitions for Christ and expectancy concerning
Him, in Whom they should find every good thing (as is now set forth in all the
teaching of the Evangelists and the Apostles);
but now, any who would enquire
of Me after that manner, and desire Me to speak to him or reveal aught to him,
would in a sense be asking Me for Christ again, and asking Me for more faith,
and be lacking in faith, which has already been given in Christ; and therefore
he would be committing a great offence against My beloved Son, for not only
would he be lacking in faith, but he would be obliging Him again first of all
to become incarnate and pass through life and death. Thou shalt find naught to
ask Me, or to desire of Me, whether revelations or visions; consider this well,
for thou shalt find that all has been done for thee and all has been given to
thee - yea, and much more also - in Him.
If
thou desirest Me to expound to thee secret things, or happenings, set thine
eyes on Him alone, and thou shalt find the most secret mysteries, and the
wisdom and wondrous things of God, which are hidden in Him, even as My Apostle
says: "In this Son of God are
hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge of God" (Col 2:3). These treasures of
wisdom shall be very much more sublime and delectable and profitable for thee
than the things that thou desiredst to know. Herein the same Apostle gloried,
saying: That he had not declared to them that he knew anything, save Jesus
Christ and Him crucified. (1 Co 2:2) And if thou shouldst still desire
other Divine or bodily revelations and visions, look also at Him made man, and
thou shalt find therein more than thou thinkest, for the Apostle says likewise: "In Christ dwelleth
all the fullness of the Godhead bodily" (Col 2:9)." (Ascent of Mount Carmel, II,5-6)
The Jerusalem Temple, made at the image of Jesus and how we enter in Him until we reach His Divinity. |
Thank you for sharing your thoughts with us. How does somebody get “in Christ” to then worship the Father?
ReplyDeleteIs is reasonable to think of our heart as a temple given that (as long as we are in a state of grace) God dwells deep in our heart where we can offer ourselves to him there?
Thanks Rufaro for your comment. Happy Christmas time to you and to your family.
ReplyDeleteWell not only it is reasonable, but it is the Truth that we are as well His Temple. This is why He says: "dwell in me as I dwell in you".
Baptism makes us again (after the Fall) the Dwelling place of God.
If you have some time, go to this link http://www.amorvincit.com/howdoipray.htm and please do watch the first 3 very short videos that explain it with diagrams much better than words can explain.
These videos start by focusing on the "meditation technique" Jesus gave us in Matthew: "when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you." (Mt 6:6)
In the videos I explain what is this inner "room" where we have to go, and Who dwells in it. Amazing teaching that every christian should know.
Looking forward to your comment.
Actually I was planning to post these 3 videos and a short presentation to present the "other way around" (the fact that He dwells in us).
Again, here is the link: www.amorvincit.com/howdoipray
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