Jesus - The Temple

Psalm 23    John 10:22-30

Happy Mother’s Day, on this day which in the Church is known as Good Shepherd Sunday.  While we hold our mothers in our hearts, and may think of them often, we don’t think much about shepherds, don’t see sheep on the hillsides, aren’t particularly concerned with shepherding – or are we?  Certainly, there are some shepherds that still catch our attention.  Earlier last week, as I worked on this sermon, I had my iPhone open in front of me, showing a chimney on a rooftop in Italy. The world was waiting to see who would be elected as the new earthly Shepherd to 1.4 billion Roman Catholics around the world. 

Such an election puts shepherding, if ever so briefly for non-Catholics, into a current perspective. Suddenly, being a shepherd, as Jesus calls us all to be, takes on a whole different meaning from men on a hillside, as we see the work in a different light.  Reflecting on what a shepherd for Christ does, we realize what a demanding job it is.

The Psalm today is, of course, not speaking about any earthly shepherd, but about God the Father.  And we, who live so many centuries after David sang his Psalms to the Lord, always see our Lord, Jesus, as our Shepherd. 

“The Lord is my Shepherd”

We place Jesus in that role and we have all sorts of ideas about who He was and how He lived, and so forth.  In modern times there’s even been a tendency to go looking for Him as “the historic Jesus’, trying to fit God’s humanity into a comfortable form to which we can easily relate.  But - here’s the thing – it doesn’t work, because the example Jesus gave us as a man is not, in even the slightest way, merely human, nor is it comfortable.

.At that time the festival of the Dedication took place in Jerusalem. It was winter, and Jesus was walking in the temple, in the portico of Solomon. 

John’s Gospel, which we heard this morning, is dived into two parts. The first tells us what we believe, and the second shows us how to live our beliefs.  Today’s reading is from the first half, what we believe, and it gives us a look at, not the “historic Jesus” of popular modern fiction, but at Jesus Himself.

It is winter, the festival of the Dedication, which we know as Chanukkah, and Jesus is walking in the temple.  It is a pleasant human image. But that is not what it is meant to be – and it is an image that would be confusing to the Jews, because there are contradictions here that we might not at first catch.

Why is Jesus in the temple for Chanukkah, when Chanukkah is not a holiday that requires Jews to attend services?  Why, instead, isn’t Jesus celebrating with His family and His friends?  We like the human Jesus, images ”from daily life”, because we can understand another human being, but He who walks in the temple in our reading today is there, not to give us a pleasant human image, but to illustrate for the Jews of His time, and for us, that He, Jesus is something more than just human.  Jesus, is the Temple.  In His own words, "Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days."

How are we meant to understand Jesus as the Temple?  The easiest way to view this, is that Jesus’ human body is the dwelling place for God, and He is the place of worship where divinity and humanity are reconciled. He is the Messiah. The Jews of Jesus time understood what Jesus was illustrating, and they didn’t like what they saw, because what they saw was that everything they had hoped for, that the Who that now stood before them, required that everything they thought they knew be set aside for a promise and a vision.

Jesus was certainly not the warrior Messiah they longed for, who would overthrow the Roman government, and restore power and authority to their people. They shied away from what they saw and what they understood Jesus meant.  And even if He was right – even if all He said was true, even if He was the Messiah, the Temple of God, it was Mystery and it was dangerous.

The Temple walked among them.  We call it the “fullness of time”, but for them there were other considerations.  For them it was Roman time, hiding time, doing what it takes to get along time; and don’t make waves time.  Jesus’ Presence, and Jesus’ demands confused His fellow Jews, frightened them, and most of all angered them.  This was not a comfortable Messiah.  It was the whole of their lives at risk.  How could He ask so much?

That’s a question we all, at one point or another, also ask, because being called to do God’s work in this world, called to believe and live our belief, isn’t the same as being pals with the “historic” Jesus.

On Thursday, as I sat watching a rooftop and some interesting seagulls near the Vatican chimney, I wondered how many of the good and holy men sequestered in the Sistine chapel were struggling with an all too human dilemma, as they weighed their human politics and concerns against their commitment to be totally open to the action of the Holy Spirit.

That’s the place in which we all find ourselves each and every day of our lives – if we are following Jesus’, responding to His call to follow Him.  As we strive to emulate our Lord, the Temple, we come to realize we are the clay pots, vessels, that through our baptism are containers of the Holy Spirit.  Each day, we are called to let that Spirit guide us, sustain us, and take us where we may, or may not, want to go for Jesus.  As He walked among us, we are called to walk in the world – in it, but not of it, or at the very least, never totally of it.

What are our concerns? Which time do we live in?  For us - is this government time, discretion time, doing what it takes to get by time, or is it surrender time, sacrifice time, unconditional love time?  The second half of John’s Gospel shows us what the Temple was willing to do for us – to die on an instrument of torture and execution, that we might live.  The question we face each day is, what are willing to do for Him?

It is Mother’s Day.  Hopefully, each of us has or had a woman in our life who gives or gave us love, support, comfort, instruction, guidance – all the qualities that we need or needed to become the people we are today. But the time comes when Jesus calls us to turn to Him, and to the Holy Spirit within us - to become channels for the love He gives, vessel filled with His love and overflowing to a world in need.  We go from under our mother’s wings to His, to be His sheep, shepherding those whom we are called to love and serve.

It's a complicated thing to be one of Jesus lambs, and at the same time, keepers of His flock. It is what the Jews so disliked about the Person walking in the Temple.  It is a mystery, and we can only enter into that mystery by surrendering ourselves to God. And then, after we have given all to Him, we can sing with David.  The Lord is my Shepherd. I lack nothing. This is our calling.

Let us pray:

Heavenly Father, we beseech You to fill our hearts with Your divine love. May Your presence guide us in our relationships, teaching us patience, kindness, and understanding. Let love flourish in our lives, reflecting Your mercy and grace. Strengthen our bonds and unite us in unwavering faith in You. All this we ask in Jesus’ Name.  Amen.