And as he came out of the temple, one of his disciples said to him, “Look, Teacher, what wonderful stones and what wonderful buildings!” And Jesus said to him, “Do you see these great buildings? There will not be left here one stone upon another that will not be thrown down.”
Throughout the ages humanity has had a strange preoccupation with brick, mortar and stained glass. Mostly the criticism in these areas falls to more of the mainline churches that specialize in ornate cathedrals - the one just a few blocks from where I live has a steeple covered with gold leaf. Yet this obsession is by no means limited to those types of buildings. Many congregations who started meeting in school cafeterias have spent millions to build.
To his disciples, and to us, Jesus gives a warning about being attached to buildings. I can hear him instructing us to be careful and not to consider these buildings as sacred but understand that we are the temple of the Holy Spirit. It is why that I think that we err when we refer to our religious spaces as sacred and our meeting rooms as sanctuaries. Truly these will not survive the test of time but we who have the gift of His Spirit will live forever.
Help me Lord to remember that I carry your sanctuary with me wherever I go.
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Reminds me of our Father's "Know ye not......." Yes, may we remember every second of every day.
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