Saturday, June 11

Divine Hours: Prayers for Summertime (pp. 64-65)
[If you'd like to read this morning's lesson, click here.]

Traditional places of worship or symbolic places of significance are and become even more a place where people meet God. A recent trip to Italy permitted us to visit the Roman Forum, now but a dust heap with an attempt to stand old, broken pillars and monuments up enough to give the resemblance of the glory that was once the Roman Empire. A short trip on a bus across the city and over the Tiber led us into St Peter's Square and the Cathedral, and that place was filled with pilgrims and tourists. For many it was a place of worship. (For myself, I was more awed by the Basilica of St Francis in Assisi.)

The Psalmist announces the happiness of those who are privileged to dwell in the Temple courts, and our Refrain this morning is this: "How dear to me is your dwelling, O Lord of hosts!" There is a whole world of mystery in this line.

Next we have a reading from John 10, in which we find the NT principle that Jesus fulfills the Temple as he forms his own flock from the whole world. "I know my own and my own know me" is all that needs to be said. We are now privileged to dwell in God's presence, or better yet, to have God's presence dwell in us. This is a grand turnaround on God's part -- instead of drawing us to his physical dwelling, God searches us out and dwells within us. We long for this dwelling.

Perhaps we need to learn more about the inner sanctum, the "inner sanctuary" that we are, where God's Spirit dwells in order to make the sort of people that declare forth the goodness of God's grace and dwelling.

As we prepare for Sunday, we could think about being a bundle of God-indwellt temples as we gather with others.