You Are Part Of The New Temple, The Body Of Christ

Some of the German bishops promoting intercommunion with Protestants have been in the headlines recently.  It is a continuing saga including directives from Pope Francis more than a couple of years ago.  In 2011 bishop Bill Morris of Toowoomba was asked by the Vatican to retire because of his attitude to some of the Sacraments.  Cardinal George Pell was appointed by Pope Francis in 2014 in the Vatican to commence a much needed tidying up of its finances and to alleviate the scandals some of the financial deals produced.  Church at all levels has always been in the process of some sort of cleansing or other.

Jesus did some tidying in the Jerusalem Temple (John 2:13-25). He cleansed the Temple of all business other than prayer.  He told the people doing business there, “Take all this out of here and stop turning my Father’s house into a market”.  The Gospel of John in its continued narrative shows that Jesus’ mission relating to the Temple was much more profound than driving out the vendors from the building. The Temple of Jerusalem does not have any more relevance.  The prayers and sacrifices in the Temple of Jerusalem cannot adequately communicate with the Father any more.  The Body of Jesus has substituted the Temple.  It is the Body that was destroyed and then resurrected after three days that is the way to make your prayers and sacrifices effective.  The Resurrection of Jesus has substituted the Temple.  The implications for this are very profound.

If you consider your local church as another temple and go there to say a few prayers, that is not good enough.  You will need to find and go into the Body of Jesus.  You might then ask, “Where am I to find the Body of Jesus now?”  People with faith receiving the blessed bread and wine at the Eucharist as a Holy Communion with God are making the Body of Jesus.  With your own worthy reception of the Blessed Sacrament in the Eucharist, enter into the Body of Christ.  That is the Father’s House.  That is the House of effective prayer. Enter that new temple and make effective prayers.

Before you enter the Body of Christ, the new Temple, you may have to do some tidying up in your own life.  Drive out all businesses of vengeance, avarice, malice, deceit, fraud, hatred, fornication, and all that is purely self-centred pleasure seeking from you.  Be prepared to make your life a sacrifice for others. Then enter the new Temple, the Body of Christ for prayer.  You will then experience the fruits of the prayer and joy of the Kingdom of God.  You are part of the newly built Temple, the Body of Christ.