The Temple: Where Divinity And Humanity Meet
Rev. Marcel Divine Emeka Okwara, CSsR
Homily on the Feast of the Dedication of St. John Lateran
Church of St. Bridget of Minneapolis, MN
Sunday, November 9, 2025
Celebrating a church building might seem odd to some of us. Honoring a single saint or a group of saints makes more sense to us. After all, they are models of Christian living; they show us that it’s possible to detach from worldly possessions and live a life centered on Christ— marked by holiness, humility, and simplicity. We honor them because God has already glorified them. And when we do so, we also ask for their prayers and intercession. Today, however, we’re not honoring an individual saint or saints in general. Instead, we are celebrating the dedication of a church building —the Basilica of St. John Lateran in Rome.
What makes the Basilica of St. John Lateran so important? It is the Mother Church of Catholicism and is even more significant than St. Peter’s Basilica. It is the Cathedral Church of the Bishop of Rome. Whenever the Pope assumes his role as the Bishop of Rome, he takes possession of the Cathedral of St. John Lateran. I have not been to Rome, but writers who have visited and been inside this basilica say that it contains the “cathedra,” the Chair from which the Pope teaches. They also say that inside the main altar are reliquaries holding the molded heads of St. Peter and St. Paul, the two great Apostles who died in Rome. Throughout the nave of the church, you will see giant depictions of the Twelve Apostles, standing as the literal pillars of the Church. So, this feast provides us with an excellent opportunity to reflect not only on this building but on church buildings in general. Based on our readings today, the Church teaches that all church buildings trace their origins to the great Temple in Jerusalem, which serves as their source and prototype.
In previous homilies, I mentioned that for a first-century Jew, the Temple was not just a large building meant to hold more people for worship. The Temple in Jerusalem was, in a literal sense, the dwelling place of Yahweh on earth. God was seen as inhabiting the Temple. Of course, ancient Jews understood that God, an omnipresent Reality, was everywhere. But sacramentally, they regarded the Temple as God’s dwelling place, especially in the holy of holies, the heart of the Temple. When a devout Jew visited Jerusalem, he came to commune with Yahweh in a personal, intimate way. That’s why the most traumatic event in ancient Jewish history was the desecration and destruction of the Temple by the Babylonians—it haunted their imagination. If the Temple was Yahweh’s dwelling and the place where Jews worshiped properly, its destruction wasn’t just political, economic, or cultural; it was a profound theological crisis. How could God allow His dwelling, the Temple, to be destroyed? The second most traumatic event was the definitive destruction of the Temple by the Romans in 70 AD. Imagine yourself as a first-century Jew. After Herod the Great rebuilt the Temple, it was razed in 70 AD. How did Yahweh permit this? Has He forsaken His people?
Now, this rich background helps us better understand today’s readings. The first reading is from the Book of Ezekiel, the prophet who announced that Yahweh is fed up with the corruption of his Temple and that his glory has abandoned it. Because of this corruption, God left the Temple vulnerable to his enemies. But Ezekiel was not a prophet of doom. He saw a vision of the day when the glory of Yahweh would return to the Temple. The Temple will be cleansed and purified. God will come back to it. On that day, water will flow from the Temple for the renewal of the world. Our first reading today (Ezekiel 47:1-2,8-9,12) describes water flowing from the walls of the Temple. And Yahweh, speaking through Ezekiel, says that “Wherever the water flows, every sort of living creature that can multiply shall live…” (Ezekiel 47:9). Five hundred years later, Jesus arrives. One of the Messiah’s tasks was to cleanse and restore the Temple to a place of right praise. So Jesus, at the climax of his life, entered the Temple and caused a commotion. I tell you, this event caught the attention of the first Christians, which is why the account is in all four Gospels. Jesus entering the Temple, cleansing it, and driving out the money-changers shouldn’t be seen as just causing trouble. He was not simply acting as a revolutionary. He was doing what the Messiah was supposed to do. He was fulfilling a prophecy. He was pronouncing judgment on the corrupt Temple and trying to purify it. That’s why he said, “Take these out of here, and stop making my Father’s house a marketplace” (John 2:16).
Pressed for a sign by the Jews, Jesus says, “Destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up” (John 2:19). He is essentially saying, “I will rebuild in three days what took Herod the Great, the architects, and many others 47 years to rebuild.” What is he talking about? Once again, in our first reading from Ezekiel 47, the seer speaks about “water flowing down from the southern side of the temple…” When at his crucifixion, Jesus’ side was pierced, what came forth? Blood and water, symbolizing the sacraments of baptism and Eucharist. Blood for Eucharist, and water for baptism, which will renew the world. The Temple served its purpose for a thousand years. But the real temple now —the renewed temple — is the Body of Jesus Christ, where divinity and humanity meet. As for the church, every church building in the world —from St. John Lateran Basilica to the humblest little church —is a representation of that Temple. It is a sign, a figure of the mystical body of Christ. So, let’s honor our church building and treat it with utmost respect. Like the ancient Temple in Jerusalem, God is here. This building is unique among those in this parish. Like the Temple of Jerusalem, we have the holy of holies, the Blessed Sacrament, the Real Presence of Christ among us. Enter this building with reverence. Avoid turning it into another place of conversation and socialization. If you must speak to someone, please whisper. Avoid irreverent laughter! I have said it before that the Devil does not have to convince you that God does not exist. But what he can do is to cause you to show no reverence in Church, no reverence to the Blessed Sacrament, and no reverence to the things we ought to show reverence to. In the words of St. Pope John Paul II, the sin of the century is the loss of the sense of sin,” which always begins with the loss of the sense of the sacred.
