The Temple Entrusted To Us

Prayer-Soldier · Posted: Wed Mar 07, 2018 9:53 pm Post subject: The Temple Entrusted To Us

The Temple Entrusted To Us

Scripture:

And the Lord spoke all these words: I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. You shall not have strange gods before me. You shall not make to yourself a graven thing, nor the likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or in the earth beneath, nor of those things that are in the waters under the earth. You shall not adore them, nor serve them: I am the Lord your God, mighty, jealous, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me: And showing mercy unto thousands to them that love me, and keep my commandments.

You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain: for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that shall take the name of the Lord his God in vain.

Remember that you keep holy the sabbath day. Six days shall you labor, and shall do all your works. But on the seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord your God: you shall do no work on it, you nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your manservant, nor your maidservant, nor your beast, nor the stranger that is within your gates. For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, and the sea, and all things that are in them, and rested on the seventh day: therefore the Lord blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it.

Honor your father and your mother, that you may be long lived upon the land which the Lord your God will give you.

You shall not kill.

You shall not commit adultery.

You shall not steal.

You shalt not bear false witness against your neighbor.

You shall not covet the house of your neighbor:

Neither shall you desire his wife, nor his servant, nor his handmaid, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is his.
(Exodus 20:1-17)

For both the Jews require signs, and the Greeks seek after wisdom: But we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews indeed a stumblingblock, and unto the Gentiles foolishness: But unto them that are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God. For the foolishness of God is wiser than men; and the weakness of God is stronger than men.
(1 Corinthians 1:22-25)

And the pasch of the Jews was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. And he found in the temple them that sold oxen and sheep and doves, and the changers of money sitting. And when he had made, as it were, a scourge of little cords, he drove them all out of the temple, the sheep also and the oxen, and the money of the changers he poured out, and the tables he overthrew. And to them that sold doves he said: Take these things hence, and make not the house of my Father a house of traffic. And his disciples remembered, that it was written: The zeal of your house has eaten me up.

The Jews, therefore, answered, and said to him: What sign do you show unto us, seeing you do these things? Jesus answered, and said to them: Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up. The Jews then said: Six and forty years was this temple in building; and will you raise it up in three days?
But he spoke of the temple of his body. When therefore he was risen again from the dead, his disciples remembered, that he had said this, and they believed the scripture, and the word that Jesus had said.

Now when he was at Jerusalem, at the pasch, upon the festival day, many believed in his name, seeing his signs which he did. But Jesus did not trust himself unto them, for that he knew all men, and because he needed not that any should give testimony of man: for he knew what was in man.
(John 2:13-25)

Reflection:

The commandments of God are truly the basics of how a society may live together in a manner where everyone has the opportunity to thrive and to share the blessings of love for one another. God has given us these commandments as our moral aiming post, for as we deviate from them, harm results, whether it is harm to God, harm to another, or harm to ourselves.

We do not always consider the consequences of what we do. We do not always see the harm of selfish ways. We do not always see the wounds caused by careless words or deeds. If we examine the commandments, we see that they call us away from the common temptations which yield broken relationships, conflict, or even violence.

As we endeavor to follow the commandments of God and strive to do what is right and just, we share in the blessings of love. When we work to live in respect of God and one another, we remove that which nourishes evil within the world. If we examine the ways of those who live with the greatest strife, we must observe that a good portion of the suffering endured is spawned by behaviors which are in opposition to those which are encouraged by the commandments of God.

As we examine the commandments, we should also recognize their wisdom. We should observe that they encourage what is good about us and discourage the darkness within. If we understand the blessings we may share through them, we might wonder, why would anyone stand in opposition to them or believe that their violation is desirable? Do we not observe that the injustice we are willing to do to another is injustice which may also be visited upon us? If we desire respect, if we desire civility, if we desire justice; then, we must be willing to give in kind that which we expect to receive. If we desire fairness, we must treat others with fairness. If we desire justice, we must treat others with justice. If we desire civility and kindness, we must offer civility and kindness as well.

It is written that our bodies are the temple of the Holy Spirit. (1 Corinthians 6:19) If we allow the Holy Spirit within, then, the ways of God and the blessings of His truth shall fill us. If we turn away the Holy Spirit, then, we also turn away from that which tends to and brings life to the temple. Without the Holy Spirit, what is left is cold and shall crumble under the burdens of time. Without the light of the Holy Spirit, darkness reigns.

Let us, then, seek the Holy Spirit. Let us seek the love with which the Holy Spirit seeks to infuse us. Let us give reign of the temple of our bodies to the One who reminds us of all which is taught by the Word made flesh (John 14:26) and testifies to the truth. (1 John 5:6)

Questions for further reflection:

What blessings do the commandments of God bring to us?

What are the signs that the Holy Spirit lives within us?

In what ways are we called to tend to the temple entrusted to our care?

May the peace and blessings of the Lord be with you always,
Prayer Soldier