the place where you have decreed you shall be honored;
may you heed the prayer which I, your servant, offer in this place.
Listen to the petitions of your servant and of your people Israel
which they offer in this place.
Listen from your heavenly dwelling and grant pardon.”
Solomon's prayer reflects the justifiable pride he and his nation took in the Temple of Jerusalem. It was once considered one of the seven ancient wonders of the world. King David had intended to build a temple but the prophet Nathan, conveying the Lord's message to him, discouraged him. The man with so much blood on his hands should not undertake a sacred project. But he amassed materials for the temple and on his deathbed commanded his son Solomon to complete it.
Finished, the temple attracted worshipers and tourists from all over the world. But, like any major building, it also required continual maintenance and periodic remodeling. In the course of several hundred years walls would be moved, torn down, and built; extensions and rooms would be added, and then demolished some time later. Like the Palais Garnier of Phantom of the Opera, the building was honeycombed with dead hallways and secret passages. On one occasion, an ancient, forgotten room was reopened to reveal the lost Book of the Law.
I think of that old building and its mysterious rooms when I hear Jesus complain about the Pharisees and their human traditions. Religion and its customs, legends, definitions, explanations, and justifications are also honeycombed with dead end halls, rooms without doors. and doors without rooms. And yet they're there and there must be a reason for them!
As a new pastor, I decided to change nothing before I knew why it was like that in the first place. There's a reason for everything the way it is, and someone has invested time, money, and energy in making it that way. I had to find out why it was like that; and who cares about it (if anyone); before changing anything.
This, of course, is the source of tension between conservatives and liberals, traditions and reforms. The Spirit of God maintains old traditions, demands repentance for past sins, and adaptation to new realities. Conservatives sometimes treasure worthless old values while forgetting their past sins; and liberals propose idealistic new values while dismissing possibly unhappy consequences. Both sides deny the reality of Original Sin which is built into every custom and realized in every system.
In today's gospel Jesus points to the Pharisees' practice of qorban, of dedicating all of one's resources to the honor of God, but maintaining it in one's possession. As if possession is not the same as ownership! Whatever the practice meant to its creators, it invited abuse. Some pious hypocrites used it to cut off aid to their own parents.
The stakes are high. Infidelity to the Spirit of God is costly. As we practice our faith in this new century -- which probably feels old already to some young people -- we ask God to give us eyes to see the splendid past which deserves our maintenance and appreciation of the current crises which demand thoughtful adaptation and invention.
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I love to write. This blog helps me to meditate on the Word of God, and I hope to make some contribution to our contemplations of God's Mighty Works.
Ordinarily, I write these reflections two or three weeks in advance of their publication. I do not intend to comment on current events.
I understand many people prefer gender-neutral references to "God." I don't disagree with them but find that language impersonal, unappealing and tasteless. When I refer to "God" I think of the One whom Jesus called "Abba" and "Father", and I would not attempt to improve on Jesus' language.
You're welcome to add a thought or raise a question.