First Sunday after Epiphany (7 January, 2018)

Go home

Then the priests brought the ark of the covenant of the LORD to its place in the inner sanctuary of the house, in the Most Holy Place, underneath the wings of the cherubim.  For the cherubim spread out their wings over the place of the ark, so that the cherubim overshadowed the ark and its poles.  And the poles were so long that the ends of the poles were seen from the Holy Place before the inner sanctuary; but they could not be seen from outside. And they are there to this day.  There was nothing in the ark except the two tablets of stone that Moses put there at Horeb, where the LORD made a covenant with the people of Israel, when they came out of the land of Egypt.  And when the priests came out of the Holy Place, a cloud filled the house of the LORD, so that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud, for the glory of the LORD filled the house of the LORD.  Then Solomon said, "The LORD has said that he would dwell in thick darkness.  I have indeed built you an exalted house, a place for you to dwell in forever."  1 Kings 8:6-13

(A Psalm of Asaph.) The Mighty One, God the LORD, speaks and summons the earth from the rising of the sun to its setting.  Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty, God shines forth.  Our God comes; he does not keep silence; before him is a devouring fire, around him a mighty tempest.  He calls to the heavens above and to the earth, that he may judge his people: "Gather to me my faithful ones, who made a covenant with me by sacrifice!"  The heavens declare his righteousness, for God himself is judge! Selah  "Hear, O my people, and I will speak; O Israel, I will testify against you. I am God, your God.  Not for your sacrifices do I rebuke you; your burnt offerings are continually before me.  I will not accept a bull from your house or goats from your folds.  For every beast of the forest is mine, the cattle on a thousand hills.  I know all the birds of the hills, and all that moves in the field is mine.  "If I were hungry, I would not tell you, for the world and its fullness are mine.  Do I eat the flesh of bulls or drink the blood of goats?  Offer to God a sacrifice of thanksgiving, and perform your vows to the Most High, and call upon me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you shall glorify me."  Psalm 50:1-15

I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.  Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.  For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned.  For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another.  Romans 12:1-5

Now his parents went to Jerusalem every year at the Feast of the Passover.  And when he was twelve years old, they went up according to custom.  And when the feast was ended, as they were returning, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem. His parents did not know it, but supposing him to be in the group they went a day's journey, but then they began to search for him among their relatives and acquaintances, and when they did not find him, they returned to Jerusalem, searching for him.  After three days they found him in the temple, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions.  And all who heard him were amazed at his understanding and his answers.  And when his parents saw him, they were astonished. And his mother said to him, "Son, why have you treated us so? Behold, your father and I have been searching for you in great distress."  And he said to them, "Why were you looking for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father's house?"  And they did not understand the saying that he spoke to them.  And he went down with them and came to Nazareth and was submissive to them. And his mother treasured up all these things in her heart.  And Jesus increased in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and man.  Luke 2:41-52

Think ahead in the church year, for a moment, to the Transfiguration.  Peter, James, and John were pants-wetting terrified to be on that mountain with the unharnessed holy Jesus Christ, the Law-giver, the Prophet, and the Voice of God.  Yet, they knew, deep down, that the best place to be was that mountain.  Because that's where the Temple was.

That's where people want to be: close to God.  We were created, originally, to walk with God, as our first parents did in the Garden.  Its why David wanted to build a permanent temple for God.  And most importantly, its why Jesus was in the temple, teaching the teachers.

In some ways its similar to when Jesus drove people out of the temple.  Only the teachers were receptive to Him and what He was saying.  And Jesus wasn't there to drive them out, but to bring them back.  He was teaching them.  That is what the temple was for.

God calls us to Himself.  That is why He sent His Son.  Without the Son, we wander about lost, attempting to build find God somewhere, anywhere.  We build temples of our own design in whatever high places we think are fit.

But with the coming of Christ, and His sacrifice, the permanent singular temple in Jerusalem was no longer the goal.  It was a type and shadow, meant to point us to Christ.  Now, we "temple" with Him wherever His word is preached, and His sacraments are administered.