DEDICATION OF THE LATERAN BASILICA
NOVEMBER 9
Introduction
The Basilica of St. John Lateran is the cathedral of the Pope as Bishop of Rome. It was built by Constantine and was for centuries the habitual residence of the Popes. Although he lives in the Vatican, the Pope annually presides on Holy Thursday the Eucharist and the Washing of the Feet in St. John Lateran. This basilica is a symbol of the unity of all Christian communities with Rome. It is called ‘mother of all the Churches,’ and for this reason, we celebrate this holiday worldwide. It is a reminder that we are all united by the same faith and that the Church of Rome, the Church of the Apostle Peter, is a fundamental reference point of our faith.
Today we may begin the Eucharistic celebration with the sprinkling of water in relation to the theme of water in the First Reading. Then we may sing the creed, the symbol of our faith, which unites us to the Church spread throughout the world, with its center in Rome.
Today’s readings show a mosaic of images of what the Church is: water that flows from the temple, the building, which is built on Christ, the temple of God, and the abode of the Spirit (we are all God’s building). Each of us is the temple, to be defended as a house of prayer (and not changed into a market, as in the scene of the Gospel), the Body of Christ, which will be rebuilt on the third day… But we could focus on the first image, the water that should flow from the Church, the community of Jesus, to clean and fill the world with life.
Ezekiel sees the water that flows from the temple. Salvation comes from God, but God sacramentally manifests his presence through the Temple. This water runs down the slopes, which sanitizes whatever it encounters along its path. Wherever it passes, everything is full of life, fish in abundance, fruit trees with rich crops and medicinal leaves. It’s like going back to the life that the four rivers of Eden gave to paradise. TheApocalypse, in its final page of the story, also returns to present the same view: “He showed me the river of life, gushing from the throne of God and of the Lamb. On both sides of the river are the trees of life, the leaves of which are for healing the nations” (Rev 22:1-2).
What is this water? The symbolism of this valuable element is very rich. But in the Gospel, the water is especially Christ Jesus, as he tells the Samaritan woman at the well, where both had gone to fetch water. Or it is also his Spirit, as on another occasion the evangelist says, “Out of the believer’s heart shall flow rivers of living water. He was referring to the Spirit which those who believe in him were to receive”(Jn 7:38-39).
God gives the thirsty and parched humankind the ‘Water of Christ’ and ‘of the Spirit.’ The visible sign of this grace that comes from God to the world is now the Church, the community of Jesus and the Spirit. To the Israelites and the strangers that came, the temple of Jerusalem was the required benchmark of God's salvation and the worship the believers devoted to him. Now that sign should be the Christian community in the world, a diocese or parish.
Somehow, the meaning of this life-giving water is as sacramentally condensed into their temples and liturgy: a church in the middle of town or neighborhood, with its bell tower, as their meeting place and prayer for believers as a reminder of higher values for others. In these buildings—as we equally call the community ‘Church’—is where the community celebrates the sacrament of Baptism and the other sacraments that the Catechism says emanate from the living and life-giving Christ (CCC 1116). But above all, it is the community of persons, which must be a credible sign of God’s life, in and out of the celebration. Jesus, through His Church, continues to give His saving water to all humanity. They are ‘waters that flow from the sanctuary’ and should give that ‘life wherever the current flows.’
Does the water that quenches the thirst of the world, the light to illumine its darkness, the balm of hope to cure its wounds, really still flow from the sides of each ecclesial community? Does the Church, evangelized and full of the good news, feel and act as evangelizers, communicators of water, of hope, of life? Can she call herself the ' light of the nations,’ salt, ferment, and source of hope for society? Does she display interior unity—around the ‘cathedral of the world’ in Rome—and missionary zeal?
First Reading: Ezekiel 47:1-2,8-9,12
The final chapters of the book of Ezekiel (Ezk 40–48) describe a bright future for the people of God, in the form of the prophet’s vision wherein he contemplates in detail the new temple of Jerusalem, the cult celebrated in it, and the distribution of land among the tribes of Israel. Like the entire book of Ezekiel, the text responds to the historical situation of the time of the Babylonian exile after the destruction of Jerusalem in 587 B.C. It wants to reaffirm the hope of the believers in a new future for the people of God.
The temple is the place of God’s presence among his people. So it is central to the vision of Ezekiel. The water flowing from the temple suggests that all the blessings that Israel receives come from God. Water is the source of life and is often associated with the presence of God. Therefore, the water flowing from the temple can fertilize Judah's desert land and can even clean the salt waters of the Dead Sea, in which there could be no life.
Second Reading: 1 Corinthians 3:9b-11,16-17
Paul’s letters use multiple images to refer to the Christian community. One is that of a building (another well-known is that of the human body). Christians are described as the building of God, a concept that conveys the idea of the strength and unity among all who make up the community.
One of the most important statements linked to the image is that the foundation of the building, the Christian community, can be none other than Jesus Christ. This means, among other things, that Christian missionaries and the leaders of the communities should be very careful not to build anything that deviates from that foundation, that is, to do or teach anything that is outside of Christ.
Speaking of the Christian community with this language, Paul usually thinks of a particular building, which is none other than the temple of Jerusalem. This is a very suggestive and vibrant image, given the centrality of the temple in the life and spirituality of the people of Israel.
The temple was the place of God’s presence. Paul says that God is present now in the believing community. Just as in the temple of the ancient covenant, God resided in the temple, now the Spirit of God dwells in believers, the new Temple of God. This conception has, as a result, the extraordinary dignity of the believer that is, therefore, a holy place par excellence and the scope of God’s presence in the world. Therefore, everyone should be treated with respect and reverence.
Gospel: John 2:13-22
The temple in Jerusalem was the central place of the religious life of Israel. It was considered the privileged space of God’s presence on earth and, therefore, the proper place for worship and prayer. Consequently, it is not surprising that several New Testament texts have a certain connection with the building of the temple, with the worship celebrated in it or with its symbolism.
The famous episode in which Jesus expels the vendors and moneychangers from the temple's precinct is present in the four Gospels. In one way or another, they interpret the gesture of Jesus in the line of the prophetic call to sincere and authentic worship. The prophets had often strongly denounced the perversion of a formal cult that had no resonance to life. More specifically, the Gospels see in Jesus’ action the fulfillment of Malachi’s announcement (Mal 3:1-4), in which the Lord will enter the temple to purify it.
In John’s Gospel, the story focuses quickly, as usual, on the person of Jesus and becomes a text of self-revelation. It is the first time that Jesus manifests, yet indirectly, his divine identity when speaking of the Temple as ‘my Father’s house.’ On the other hand, he takes the image of the sanctuary to apply it to his body. It is another way of indicating that he is the real presence of God in the world. Moreover, his words about the destruction and reconstruction of the temple, his bodyannounce his future death and resurrection.
We celebrate a very special feast. It is the dedication of the Lateran Basilica, the cathedral of the Bishop of Rome. Naturally, our interest goes blurred in such celebrations as we move away from the nearest ambient. We are more accustomed to commemorating the dedication of our own parish, the anniversary of the temple's inauguration, dates that do not always coincide. It makes us miss the feast of the dedication of the cathedral itself, which every diocese commemorates. Going beyond, with a feast that refers not to a saint of the universal Church but a more or less distant building, it can seem to us like a rather strange call.
What then is the importance of the Church of St. John Lateran? Why do we remember its dedication, its inauguration? Well, mainly because it was the first public building, the first temple where Christians found themselves free, in the empire's capital, after the persecution. At the site’s entrance, an inscription reads: ‘Holy Church of Lateran, mother, and head of all churches of the city and the world,’ meaning that all temples, where Christians gather throughout the land, had its beginning there.
We know that the feast of a Christian building reminds us not of the stone but the people, the living stones of the Temple of God. Today’s celebration leads us to think of our communities because each of our Churches has a link to that. With the image of this temple ‘head and mother’, we can see our local Churches because in them and for them, the Catholic Church exists, the one and only, forming a communion.
Today we especially pray for all those who form the living building of our dioceses: from the most humble and hidden members to our bishops that from the symbolic place of the cathedrals are the visible foundation of unity. We also pray for those who have the mission of research and teaching, theologians, those responsible for preaching, catechesis, teachers, and counselors; for all who have a pastoral mission; for the communities and movements that strive to convey the Gospel: that all may live under the impulse of the Spirit who leads into all truth. That our local church, with the testimony and actions of all its members, fulfills its mission to proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ amid men and women of our time and place.
Today’s readings present two situations and different reactions about the temple as a place of prayer and community setting. The prophet Ezekiel speaks of a stream that comes from the sanctuary and makes fruitful and heals wherever it passes; a beneficial influence comes from the temple. Instead, the evangelist John shows us the action of Jesus driving the merchants from the temple and wanting to purify this space as a place of genuine encounter with God. Both situations are possible and are given in our Churches, which, as the ancient Fathers said, are holy and sinful at the same time, carriers of the treasure of the Gospel and always in need of conversion and reform.
The stream, the river of Church history, has been spreading throughout the centuries. It brings us the living water of the Gospel and the grace that comes from the side of Christ, who through his body offered on the cross is the true Temple. At the same time, the river of history, this day in our communities, often goes dim and always has to confront the living voice of the Gospel to return again and again to the first loyalty.
The action of Jesus shows us what that loyalty has to be. If the temple is a place of encounter with God, God Himself shows us the great place to find him: in the concrete person, the poor, and the needy. This is the temple to be respected; no one can defile it with contempt and exploitation. Practicing good and justice is the true worship that certifies sincere prayer. So the face of Christ, in image presides in our temples and will show itself to our world as living water, with an influence of liberation and salvation. The glory of God is man’s life, and the life of man is the ability to see God.
Gospel: John 2:13-25
All four evangelists record the scene of the expulsion of the merchants from the Temple, which shows the importance they attributed to the fact.
During Passover, Jerusalem was full of pilgrims from all over the world who had arrived to celebrate the festival, to offer sacrifices, and fulfill vows. The city, which normally counted fifty thousand inhabitants, could reach a hundred and eighty thousand on the occasion of Passover. Therefore, all the families were involved in hosting a few guests. Many pilgrims came from distant countries after saving and making sacrifices for years to afford their once-in-a-lifetime ‘pilgrimage’ (Ps 84:6). During the festive days, they went to the Temple to pray, seek counsel from the priests, offer burnt offerings to the Lord, and deliver their generous offerings of copper coins - the only ones that could be used in the holy place. The money of Rome was declared legally unclean and had to be changed at the appropriate tables of money changers.
For the traders, the time of Passover was an opportunity not to be missed. In a few weeks, they could make more profit than throughout the rest of the year. Despite high prices, pilgrims thronged the shops from early morning until late at night. It was difficult for the temple priests to resist getting involved in so profitable a turnover. In fact, during the three weeks before Easter, under the arcades of the sacred precinct, they also opened their market. They decorated the royal porch for the sale of lambs. (It is said that, for the Passover meal, 18,000 oxen and other animals were sacrificed). At the bottom of the stairs that, from the southwest, led into the Temple, four rooms intended for the moneychangers were set aside. They demanded a deduction of twelve percent for their commission. In and around the holy place, the comings and goings were indescribable. It was all a clamor of merchants, farmers, tanners, guards, and pilgrims.
The aristocrats of Jerusalem, belonging to the sect of the Sadducees, were the beneficiaries of this trade. The managers were members of the family of the high priests Annas and Caiaphas who, for decades, controlled the economic and religious power of the capital. The house of prayer had thus been transformed by its own ministers into a marketplace. The dramatic episode narrated in today's Gospel takes place in this context. It is on the occasion of a Passover feast that Jesus came to the Temple, and he came across the unworthy spectacle described above (vv. 13-14).
The emotions that he experienced are not referred to by any evangelist, but they are easy to understand, considering his reaction. He did not say a word; he made a whip, probably using ropes tied to the beasts. Then he began to cast out all from the royal porch furiously. He upended chairs, money, and cages of doves. Then, without pausing, he went down the staircase and took the moneychangers by surprise. He overturned their tables and threw down the coins they had piled on top. John, the only one among the evangelists, notes that sheep and oxen were also driven out (v. 15).
The gesture of Jesus decreed the end of religion related to the offering of animals. He declared God’s refusal of bloody sacrifices whose inadequacy had been denounced by the prophets: "What do I care—says the Lord—for your endless sacrifices? I am fed up with your burnt offerings, and the fat of your bulls. The blood of fatlings and lambs and he-goats I abhor" (Is 1:11). In the greatest proof of love that Jesus was going to give, the only sacrifice pleasing to the Father would be shown, the one John spoke of to the Christians of his community: "This is how we have known what love is; he gave his life for us, for our brothers and sisters" (1 Jn 3:16).
The violent gesture of Jesus in the Temple is amazing. From one who presented himself as "meek and humble of heart" (Mt 11:29), no one could have expected such a reaction; it is certainly unsettling. Why did he behave in this way? The explanation lies in the two sentences he uttered.
The first: "Take all this away, and stop turning my Father’s house into a marketplace" (v. 16). He was referring to an oracle of the prophet Zechariah who, after announcing the appearance of a wholly renovated world in which the Lord would become king over all the earth, and the country would be transformed into a garden, concluded: "There will no longer be merchants in the house of the Lord" (Zec 14:21).
By purifying the Temple of the merchants, Jesus pronounced his severe, absolute sentence against mingling religion and money between worshipping the Lord and economic interests. God expects only love from man and love is free. It shows and nourishes itself only through generous and disinterested gifts. To avoid dangerous misunderstandings, Jesus ordered his disciples: "You received this as a gift, so give it as a gift. Do not carry any gold silver or copper in your purses. Do not take a traveler’s bag, or an extra shirt, or sandals, or a staff: workers deserve their living"(Mt 10:8-10).
However, the most important teaching is in the second sentence: "Destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up" (v. 19). He was not referring to more trade and unworthy traffic in the sanctuary but the inauguration of a new temple. He announced the beginning of a new cult. The evangelist's comment is a clarifier: "He was referring to the temple of his body" (v. 21).
The Jews believed that God dwelt in the sanctuary of Jerusalem, where they flocked to offer sacrifices. Jesus said that this religion had now fulfilled and completed its function. The dramatic scene of the rending of the Temple veil at Jesus’ death (Mt 27:51) would mark the end of all the Temple sacred spaces, of all places reserved for the encounter with God. It was the solemn declaration that the time of the separation between the holy and the profane is over. Wherever one is in communion with Christ, one is united with God and can worship the Father.
Jesus' gesture of cleansing the Temple is not equivalent to a simple correction of abuses, but the announcement of the passing of the Temple, which had been regarded as a guarantee of the presence of God and salvation. Man’s encounter with God would no longer be in a particular place but a new temple: the body of the risen Christ.
To the Samaritan woman who asked him the place where the Lord is worshipped, Jesus replied: "Believe me, woman, the hour is coming when you shall worship the Father, but that will not be on this mountain nor in Jerusalem …. The true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for that is the kind of worshippers the Father wants" (Jn 4:21-24).
Some New Testament texts make clear what the new worship introduced by Jesus consisted of. In writing to the Romans, Paul recommends: "I beg you, dearly beloved, by the mercy of God, to give yourselves as a living and holy sacrifice pleasing to God; that is the kind of worship for you, as sensible people" (Rom 12:1)and the author of the Letter to the Hebrews: "Do not neglect good works and common life, for these are the sacrifices pleasing to God" (Heb 13:16). Jamesconcretized, even more, the content of the new cult: "Pure and blameless religion lies in helping the orphans and widows in their need and keeping oneself from the world’s corruption" (Jas 1:27). These sacrifices that the Christian is called to make do not occur in a sacred ambient or through rites but in one’s personal life.
The establishment of the new Church began—as is repeated twice in today’sGospel—after three days (v. 20), that is, on Easter day. Raising from the dead his Son, the Father has laid the cornerstone of the new sanctuary. Peter urges the newly baptized in his community to be united to Christ, "the living stone, rejected by people but chosen by God and precious to him." He explains: Set yourselves close to him so that you, too, become living stones built into a spiritual temple … spiritual sacrifices that please God" (1 P 2:4-5).
Now it is clear: the only sacrifice acceptable to God is the gift of life; this includes the works of love, the selfless service rendered to persons, especially the poorest, the sick, the marginalized, the hungry and the naked. Whoever stoops in front of a brother to serve him performs a priestly gesture: united to Christ, the temple of God, who brings to heaven the sweet aroma of a pure and holy offering.
Then, what is the point of our solemn liturgies, sacraments, chanting, processions, pilgrimages, community prayers, and devotional practices? They don’t give anything to God; they don’t add anything to his perfect joy. Our religious ceremonies respond to a deep human need: to celebrate, through gestures and sensible signs, individually and in community, what one believes. The sacraments are signs by which God communicates his Spirit, and man expresses his gratitude to him for this gift. The error is to assume that the performance of rituals is sufficient to establish a good relationship with the Lord and that participation in solemn celebrations can replace concrete works of love.
Today’s Gospel ends on a surprising note: during the feast, Jesus performed signs and many people believed in him, but he did not trust himself to them because he knew them all and knew what was in every man (vv. 23-25). The reason for this detached attitude of Jesus is that these people were drawn to him not because they were attracted by his message but because they had witnessed miracles. Faith that needs to be seen or verified with outstanding works is fragile. Jesus would not trust, even today, anyone who seeks him as a miracle worker. True faith is to accept him, become with him living stones of the new temple, and sacrifice one’s life for the brothers and sisters.
