When I was in middle school my dad and I went on a school trip to Southampton, England over Spring Break. One of the sights we went to go see was the Winchester Cathedral. Construction on this beautiful building was begun in 1079, and being the see, or the home church to the Bishop of the Diocese of Winchester, the builders wanted to make the building as impressive as they could. And in my eyes, they succeeded. I had never been to a church like that, with its Gothic architecture, massive nave, high arched ceiling and huge open windows. It looked nothing like my home parish back home. I was amazed that a structure of this size could have been built without the modern machinery we have today. Being the tourist that I was I began snapping away pictures with reckless abandon. My eyes couldn't take in enough of this beautiful church. I was lucky enough to come back a few days later with my Dad for the Easter Mass, which is one of my fondest memories of my father.

My trip to Winchester Cathedral evoked similar emotions that the disciples may have had in this morning's Gospel reading. This is the first time Mark mentions them in the city of Jerusalem, so we assume that this is the first time that they had visited the big city. One of the disciples comments on how large the stones and the buildings are. The disciple was referring to the Temple which had been built up to tremendous proportions during this time, so all of this would have been very new and perhaps overwhelming to the disciples from the little town of Galilee. Had they had cameras back then, I am sure that the disciples would have been snapping away with the same reckless abandon that I had as a young teenager.

Jesus, however, seemed to be a bit unfazed by the magnificent temple, so the disciples try to draw him into their excitement.¹ "Look, Teacher, what large stones and what large buildings!"² "Look at this place, isn't it great!" Jesus responds to their excitement by telling them that the Temple will be destroyed. I can picture the disciples looking at Jesus with their mouths open in shock, gazing at Jesus as he calmly walks away.

The Temple was the central shrine of the Jewish people, a massive building that would have been the pride and joy of the Jewish people, and their most sacred site. It was the place where God's presence could be physically sensed in the world. Yet we hear Jesus talking about the destruction of it. Not one stone will be left upon another. This would have been shocking for the disciples to hear. They couldn't possibly imagine a time when the Temple would not stand, and to hear this prophecy most likely would have worried them.

Later, on the Mount of Olives, we can almost picture the disciples nervously glancing at each other; wondering who is going to ask Jesus about the elephant in the room. Peter, James, John, and Andrew summon enough courage and ask Jesus when this destruction will take place and what will be the sign that will tell them when it is going to happen. When he responds to them, Jesus draws heavily on Jewish Apocalyptic language that his disciples would have certainly understood, but that we sometimes overlook or misread.

Jesus' answer to the disciples' questions is sometimes referred to as the "Markan Apocalypse" by biblical scholars. Some have taken it out of context, believing it to be about the end of the world. Yet the passage itself tells us the topic: the events surrounding the destruction of the Temple; not the end of the world.

Jesus told them to beware of false messiahs and prophets, those who claim to be the Son of God. This is a claim that Jesus won't even make until he is on trial before the council, which would ultimately lead to his death. For Mark, to be the true Messiah means suffering. The Messiah is not one who claims power and conquers using violence. For Mark, the Messiah is the one who despite his great power, has come to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many.

And this is exactly what the reading from Hebrews describes; Christ's offering of himself as a single sacrifice for sins. The author of the letter to the Hebrews is imploring his readers to believe in Christ's atoning work on the cross, and that their actions must demonstrate this belief. Provoking one another not with weapons and wars that Jesus speaks about, but rather provoking each other with love and good deeds. We are challenged to outdo one another in works of good deeds and in charity to those less fortunate than ourselves. Our response to God's grace is for us, the children of God, to show grace and mercy to those all around us. It strikes me that when we are doing this; we are taking care of the temple of God today.

The notion of "temple" has a long history that spans throughout the Bible. In Exodus, we see Moses receiving the plans for the Tabernacle which housed the Ark of the Covenant, while the Israelites were still in the desert. The Tabernacle was the precursor to the Temple in Jerusalem. King Solomon began construction of the First Temple in 833 BCE, and after it was finished, the Ark of the Covenant was brought into the sanctuary. The First Temple was destroyed by the Babylonian king, Nebuchadnezzar, setting off the Babylonian exile.

Once the Israelites returned, God commanded the Israelites to rebuild the Temple through the prophets Ezra and Nehemiah. King Herod added on to the temple until it became the vast complex that we see in our reading in Mark. Biblical scholars have argued that in the adding on the Temple, Herod was making the Temple more of a monument to himself, rather than a place to connect with the Holy One. This is the very same temple that Jesus later predicts will be destroyed, and this is indeed what happens in the year 70 when the Romans besieged Jerusalem in order to put down a revolt.

The Temple, and the Tabernacle before it, was where God dwelled on earth. As Christians, when we think of God dwelling on earth, our thoughts turn to Jesus Christ, God Incarnate; God walking and talking with us here on earth. And just as the Temple was destroyed, Christ was put to death at the hands of humans. But unlike the Second Temple, Christ was resurrected. Our temple was raised again.

We, the Body of Christ, the Church, are God's temple on earth today. In his letter to the Ephesians, Paul tells us that we are the holy temple of the Lord. "So he (Jesus) came and proclaimed peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near; for through him both of us have access in one Spirit to the Father. So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are citizens with the saints and also members of the household of God, built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the cornerstone. In him the whole structure is joined together and grows into a holy temple in the Lord".³

Saint Augustine wrote "What the soul is to the human body, the Holy Spirit is to the Body of Christ, which is the Church. To this Spirit of Christ, as an invisible principle, is to be ascribed the fact that all the parts of the body are joined one with the other and with their exalted head; for the whole Spirit of Christ is in the head, the whole Spirit is in the body, and the whole Spirit is in each of the members. The Holy Spirit makes the Church 'the temple of the living God'."⁴ So not only is the Church as a whole the "temple of the living God", but every Christian, because the Spirit is in each of the members.

When we act as the Body of Christ, loving one another as we have been loved, taking care of the sick, the friendless, and the needy, and the victims of hunger, fear, injustice, and oppression, that is when we Christ in each other and we are truly being the dwelling place for God on Earth.

Amen

¹ Hoezee, Scott Mark 13:1-8: This Sunday's Lectionary Gospel Text - found at http://cep.calvinseminary.edu/thisWeek/index.php?pNav=cep
² Mark 13:1
³ Ephesians 2:17-21
⁴ Catechism of the Catholic Church - found at http://www.vatican.va/archive/catechism/p123a9p2.htm