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| “Solomon Dedicates the by James Tissot, c. 1896-1900 |
Commentary:
Reading I: 1 Kings 8:22-23, 27-30
Commentary on 1 Kgs 8:22-23, 27-30
King Solomon concludes the dedication of the Temple with theological wisdom. He tells the priests and people who believed that God had come to reside “completely and solely present” in the Temple that this was not so. Rather he says that God was omnipresent. “’Can it indeed be that God dwells on earth? If the heavens and the highest heavens cannot contain you, how much less this temple which I have built!’” He continues his prayer of intercession asking that God hear the prayers of the people offered there, and grant them mercy as they repent and atone for their sins.
CCC: 1 Kgs 8:10-61 2580
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Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 84:3, 4, 5 and 10, 11
R. (2) How lovely is your dwelling place, Lord, mighty God!
Commentary on Ps 84:3, 4, 5 and 10, 11
Psalm 84 is a hymn in praise of the temple, a song of Zion. The psalmist sings of the joy felt by the faithful who can spend time with the Lord in his house. It is a hymn for those who depend on God (Blessed they who dwell in your house!). This selection captures the reverence for the temple that is part of the Hebrew tradition, a tradition carried on in part by reverence to church structures today.
Psalm 84 is a hymn in praise of the temple, a song of Zion. The psalmist sings of the joy felt by the faithful who can spend time with the Lord in his house. It is a hymn for those who depend on God (Blessed they who dwell in your house!). This selection captures the reverence for the temple that is part of the Hebrew tradition, a tradition carried on in part by reverence to church structures today.
CCC: Ps 84:3 1770
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Gospel: Mark 7:1-13
Commentary on Mk 7:1-13
We begin the seventh chapter of Mark’s Gospel with an encounter between Jesus and the Pharisees. Jesus’ disciples are not following strict pharisaic laws regarding ritual purification and the Lord, who is their teacher, is taken to task for it. Jesus responds indignantly, asserting that it is the Pharisees with their man-made laws who are sinning against God. He points out that not only have they placed pharisaic law above Mosaic Law (see also Galatians 1:14), but they have violated the Law of Moses by doing so. He gives one example about children who, under Mosaic Law, are to honor and support their parents. Instead of supporting them directly, they satisfy their obligation by contributing it to the Temple and count that as support, even though it gives their parents no comfort.
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Reflection
Captured within Sacred Scripture today is the tension that exists between formal worship and living the faith in the world. In the first reading from the First Book of Kings, Solomon demonstrates the wisdom he was given by God (1 Kings 3:9ff) by dispelling a long held belief. From earliest times it was thought that God was present in smoke or fog and that his presence was announced in earth tremors. The belief the Levites had held was that, since the temple was to be the permanent resting place for the Ark of the Covenant, God would dwell there, to the exclusion of his omnipresent essence. Solomon makes it clear that the temple he has built is a place where God’s presence may be felt, but that God is greater than any man-made structure can contain.
At a more esoteric level, the encounter between the Pharisees and Jesus in St. Mark’s Gospel centers on a tangential issue. The Pharisees are complaining about Jesus’ disciples not following the strict rituals associated with Pharisaic Law. They complain to Jesus because his disciples have not done the prescribed rituals of purification and Jesus becomes indignant. He points out that the Pharisees have missed an important element of worship. They have focused so much on ritual that they have missed God’s real message of love for his people.
There are a few lessons we can take away from these attempts to discern how God wishes to be worshiped. First, we must recognize that while a Church building is a sacred space, God’s presence is universal. At the same time we also recognize that coming together to worship our Triune God in a house of worship, by way of his promise that where two or three are gathered in his name he will be present (Matthew 18:20), assures us of his palpable presence.
The Gospel message is also clear. Jesus reminds us that the objective of worship must be to fulfill God’s commandments. Most specifically, Christ commands us to love God (which we do in formal liturgy), and love one another, which is something we must do even as we walk in the world.
The two linked lessons we are given today assure us that our obligation to God has two parts. First, we are called to come together as a people of faith in a house of God to worship him. It is part of our discipline of faith. Second we are tasked with taking our faith into the world so that all people may benefit from God’s love, passed first to us so it may be passed on to others. Scripture challenges us today; may we be up to that challenge.
Pax
[2] The picture is “Solomon Dedicates the Temple at Jerusalem ” by James Tissot, c. 1896-1900
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