Loving God, heaven is your throne and earth is your footstool, and yet we sometimes try to confine you to a building.  Make us aware of your presence wherever we may be, and make us your temple, through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

           Where, exactly, does God dwell?  Is it in Jerusalem where the Temple used to be?  Is it in heaven?  Does God dwell right here in this church building – or maybe in St. Peter’s in Rome?  Or, is God’s dwelling place a little more ethereal - as in, God can be found out in nature?  And perhaps we could also ask – can God actually be limited to any single dwelling place?

         It is an interesting conversation when David first proposes building a house for God to dwell in.  God speaks through the prophet Nathan, saying,

I have not lived in a house since the day I brought up the people of Israel from Egypt…, but I have been moving about in a tent and a tabernacle.  Wherever I have moved about among all the people of Israel, did I ever speak a word, …saying, “Why have you not built me a house of cedar?” (2 Sam. 7:6-7).

From this conversation, it seems that the Almighty is quite content with the more portable housing of a tent.  It is also entirely likely that God knew all of the pitfalls that come with building a Temple.

         The Temple that was built under Solomon, as magnificent as it may have been, was built on the backs of the poor like so many other great building projects.  Many Israelites were conscripted as forced labour (1 Ki. 5:13).  It is highly unlikely that these people were wealthy.  At the same time, we are not told how many peasants suffered because of the large amounts of wheat and olive oil that were sent to King Hiram of Tyre every year (1 Ki. 5:11).  Neither are we told the source of all of the animals that King Solomon offered as sacrifices (1 Ki. 8:63).

         On this Reformation Sunday, there are some interesting parallels with the building of St. Peter’s in Rome, which was also built on the backs of the poor.  The sale of indulgences that was going on at the time – and people paying to view relics in the church ahead of All Saints’ Day – these things were raising funds for building St. Peter’s.  The pope and many of the bishops lived in comfort and wealth, while those who barely had enough to live on were threatened with hellfire and damnation if they didn’t pay up.  These practices led Martin Luther and others to protest, not only the extorting of money from the poor, but also the teaching that they had to pay if they wanted God to save them.

         Of course, it is not just the building of a Temple or a Basilica that requires fundraising, but the upkeep once it is built.  By the time that Jesus comes along, there is a Temple tax that is in place, in addition to offerings.  Jesus observes as wealthy people place large sums into the temple treasury.  He also observes a widow who places her last two coins in that same treasury (Mk. 12:42).  Whether an act of faith or of desperation, this widow believes that she needs to give to support the Temple.

         There are always pros and cons, it would seem, when it comes to places of worship.  In some cases, the building itself becomes the object of worship, rather than the One who is Lord of heaven and earth.  People end up worshiping the building and using God, rather than the other way around.  At the same time, however, churches or temples can lift our hearts to God and offer a gathering place for us to worship together.

         In 1 Kings, chapters 5-8, it is interesting how many times it says that Solomon built the Temple – even though it is highly unlikely that he ever lifted a hammer.  There is also that interesting verse in today’s reading where Solomon says to God, “I have built you an exalted house, a place for you to dwell in forever” (1 Ki. 8:13).  Doesn’t this sound at least a little presumptuous?  After all, will God really dwell there forever?

         As you are probably aware, both Solomon’s Temple and the Second Temple end up being destroyed by fire.  However, in today’s gospel verses, we are reminded that the body of Christ becomes the temple wherein God dwells (Jn. 2:21).  Just as God dwelt among us bodily in Jesus, so God continues to dwell among us now, as we have become God’s house of living stones (1 Pet. 2:5).

         And so, where, exactly, does God dwell?  Everywhere, and in places of worship, and in heaven, and in us, and among us.  For, God has called us, saved us, and made us members of the body of Christ, through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

Reformation Sunday (NL 4)           1 Kings 5:1-5; 8:1-13

October 31, 2021                             John 2:19-21

St. Luke’s Zion Lutheran Church

Pastor Lynne Hutchison

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