A Lectio Divina Approach to the Sunday Liturgy
BREAKING THE BREAD OF THE WORD (Series 6, n. 50)
Dedication of the Lateran Basilica, Year A – November 9, 2008
“The Healing Stream from the Temple”
BIBLE READINGS
Ez 47:1-2, 8-9, 12 // I Cor 3:9c-11, 16-17 // Jn 2:13-2:2
(N.B. Series 6 of BREAKING THE BREAD OF THE WORD: A LECTIO DIVINA APPROACH TO THE SUNDAY LITURGY includes a prayerful study of the Sunday liturgy of Year A from the perspective of the First Reading. For another set of reflections on the Sunday liturgy of Year A, please go to the PDDM Web Archives: WWW.PDDM.US and open Series 3.)
I. BIBLICO-LITURGICAL REFLECTIONS
Today we celebrate the dedication of the basilica of St. John Lateran, which is the “cathedral” of the diocese of Rome. It is the official seat of the bishop of Rome, who happens to be the Pope. The original basilica was built in the fourth century when Emperor Constantine gave Pope Sylvester I the property, originally owned by the Laterani family, upon which it was constructed. The Lateran Basilica was built shortly after Emperor Constantine had legalized Christianity, which was a persecuted religion. From then on, many Christian places were built and the Church put down roots and spread throughout the world. The Lateran Basilica was dedicated on November 9, 324. The anniversary of its dedication expresses the communion of each Christian community with the universal Church, founded by the apostles Peter and Paul, with the Pope as the head of the college of bishops, which presides over the charity of all the churches throughout the world.
This Sunday’s Old Testament reading (Ez 47:1-2, 8-9, 12) is one of the most picturesque and consoling passages in the Bible. It depicts Ezekiel’s vision of the healing and life-giving stream flowing out from the renewed temple in Jerusalem. The prophet saw water flowing with increasing quantity, depth and efficacy. All who were touched by it were regenerated, becoming abundantly fruitful. Ezekiel’s vision of regeneration through the life-giving water flowing out from the temple symbolizes the healing and salvation that would result from the new covenant promised by Yahweh in the messianic future.
The authors of the Days of the Lord, vol. 7, comment: “When the sanctuary of the Lord was profaned by the armies of Nebuchadnezzar who besieged the city in 597 B.C., he was deeply distressed. Carried off into exile in Babylon, it was on the banks of Kibar canal that he received his mission as a prophet … In 587 B.C. Ezekiel learned that the second taking of Jerusalem ended with the total destruction of the venerated Temple. With this catastrophe, all seemed lost. But God announced to his priest and prophet that there would soon be a miraculous restoration of his people. He will bring them back to their country and will live again in their midst, in a reconstructed Temple … Ezekiel was taken in a vision to the top of a mountain from which he contemplated Jerusalem being rebuilt (Ez 40:1-2). A mysterious surveyor appears to the prophet. He shows him around the Temple, giving measurements in detail, and dictating to him precise rituals that are to be followed (Ez 40:5-46:24). At the end of the guided tour, the prophet is led back to the entrance of the Temple, and there he has an extraordinary vision: waters flowing out from beneath the threshold of the Temple toward the east. This stream that keeps increasing in volume makes salt waters fresh, allows animals to live and multiply, and makes the earth so fertile that wonderful fruit trees grow on its banks. Each month they bear different fruit, and their leaves have healing properties. The stream becomes a mighty river and flows down into the Dead Sea – well-named, since its extremely salty waters allow no animal or vegetable life – and it sweetens its waters too (…) His eyes were finally opened to a radiant future brought about by the purification of suffering.”
Ezekiel’s vision of “living water” gushing forth from the temple of Jerusalem would be radically fulfilled by Jesus Christ in the messianic age. In today’s Gospel passage (Jn 2:13-2:2) we hear that the “temple” - to be destroyed and raised on the third day - is Jesus himself. Indeed, through the paschal mystery of Christ’s passion, death and resurrection, his disciples came to experience that he is the true Temple. Jesus Christ, whose side was pierced by a lance and from which poured forth blood and water, is the font of salvation. The “healing stream” of the world’s salvation flows from the ultimate Temple - Jesus Christ glorified, who renews us by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Through the aftermath of the Easter event in which the Risen Lord poured forth upon the community of Christian believers his gift of the renewing Spirit, the Church became also God’s temple. According to St. Paul (cf. I Cor 3:9c-11, 16-17), we are the temple of God, the dwelling place of God in the Spirit. Jesus Christ is the foundation stone of this new temple, the community of faith.
The biblical scholar Eugene Maly concludes: “The Risen Jesus is the focus of the gathering of all peoples … The glorified Body of Christ is the focal point of all worship of the Father. It is through him, with him, and in him that all honor and glory are given to the Father. He is the new temple and all who accept him as Lord form a new temple since they are in him. The material church building, then, takes on a new significance in the Christian dispensation. It is the place where the Eucharistic Body is most often made present and offered to the Father. It is the gathering of the new temple that is the Church, the temple of God. It is a sign, therefore, of a deeper spiritual reality, of another temple not made by hands. It is for this reason that we celebrate the dedication of the material church building.”
The Church, the spiritual temple comprised by Christian believers, is a source of “healing waters” today. This I have experienced personally. Last September 18, my younger brother Gisbert, who resides in Toronto, Canada, underwent an “open and close” surgery. The medical team discovered that the cancer in the stomach had spread to the liver and could not do anything more. It was devastating! Mercifully, however, in the midst of this “purification of suffering” there are waters of consolation. The charity and prayers of the family and friends, both in Canada and abroad, became a source of “spiritual healing”. The PDDM sisters and my friends enfolded him with the comfort of their prayers. On October 15 I went to Canada to visit him. I was very much touched by the sensitive kindness of the parish community of St. Anthony of Padua where I went for Mass. When they learned about my brother’s sickness, they spontaneously offered prayers of intercession for him. Ezekiel’s vision of a healing stream that enables fruit-laden trees with medicinal leaves to grow is accomplished anew in today’s new “temple” - the community of Christian believers. When we sustain each other in faith and when we comfort each other in the midst of affliction with the consolation we have received from the Risen Lord, “spiritual healing” takes place. The sick person and the people who love him are able to unite their pain and suffering with the true Temple Jesus Christ, the font of salvation.
II. POINTS FOR THE EXAMINATION OF THE HEART
How does Ezekiel’s vision of regeneration, healing and salvation impact you? How does the image of healing waters, fruitful trees and renewed creation affect you personally? Are you grateful for the promise of plenitude and fruitfulness given by the Lord God to Ezekiel with the coming of the new covenant?
Why is Jesus Christ the new and ultimate Temple from whom the waters of salvation flow out to the peoples of the earth and to the entire creation? Are you grateful for the gift of the holy Temple Jesus Christ and for having outpoured upon us the gift of the Holy Spirit, his Easter gift?
Are we deeply aware that we are the new temple of God? Do we endeavor to live fully the dignity of our being “temple of God” – the “dwelling of God in the Spirit”? What do we do to make the celebration of the feast of the Lateran Basilica more meaningful?
III. PRAYING WITH THE WORD
Leader: We bless you, loving Father,
for the vision of hope you gave to Ezekiel.
By the rivers of Babylon where your people were exiled,
he sat and wept
for the devastation wrought by foreign invaders on Jerusalem.
There he grieved for the destruction of its temple.
You consoled your priest-prophet Ezekiel
with the promise of a new covenant.
You gave him a glimpse of the life-giving Temple in the messianic age,
with healing waters flowing from it.
Oh, merciful God,
we thank you for having accomplished your promise
in your Son Jesus Christ.
In him you ratified the new covenant.
Jesus is the ultimate Temple
from which flowed out blood and water
for the world’s healing and salvation.
We give you praise for the Church,
your spiritual temple in the here and now.
By the Easter event of Christ’s death and rising,
we have been transformed into your holy temple,
the place where you dwell in the Spirit.
Help us to bring the healing waters of your grace
to our anguished world.
Enable us to share the medicinal leaves of the cross,
the tree of life,
with those who are spiritually, morally and physically sick.
May all those who participate in your Son’s sufferings
for the world’s salvation
bear abundant fruits of love, joy and peace.
Loving God, we thank you for gathering us
to celebrate the anniversary of the dedication of the Lateran Basilica,
the Pope’s cathedral church.
We thank you for the life-giving Holy Spirit
you have poured upon the universal Church.
We are called to be channels of “healing waters” in the world today.
Gracious Father,
may you be praised in the true Temple, Jesus Christ,
by the power of the Holy Spirit,
now and forever.
Assembly: Amen
IV. INTERIORIZATION OF THE WORD
The following is the bread of the living Word that will nourish us throughout the week. Please memorize it.
“They shall be watered by the flow from the sanctuary.” (Ez 47:12b)
V. TOWARDS LIFE TRANSFORMATION
ACTION PLAN: By your kind words and charitable deeds on behalf of the poor, the sick and suffering, enable the “healing waters” from the true Temple, Jesus Christ, to bring them peace, consolation and salvation. Endeavor to make the church building in your parish community a more conducive place for Christian worship.
ACTION PLAN: That we may live fully our dignity us temples of the Holy Spirit, make an effort to spend an hour in Eucharistic Adoration. Visit the PDDM WEB site (www.pddm.us) for the EUCHARISTIC ADORATION THROUGH THE LITURGICAL YEAR: A Weekly Pastoral Tool (Year A, # 50).
Prepared by Sr. Mary Margaret Tapang PDDM
PIAE DISCIPULAE DIVINI MAGISTRI
SISTER DISCIPLES OF THE DIVINE MASTER
60 Sunset Ave., Staten Island, NY 10314
Tel. (718) 494-8597 // (718) 761-2323
Website: WWW.PDDM.US