Place, Practice and Pharisee

The texts today from the Roman Catholic Lectionary present some contradictions and cautions to consider on our journey. Solomon prays to dedicate the Temple in Jerusalem and declares the paradox that the God of Israel, the God of mighty hand and outstretched arm cannot be confined to dwell on earth. The Temple, synagogue, Church and Mosque are places for people to be drawn closer in intimate union with the infinite and eternal God. As Solomon proclaims and Friar Jude Winkler confirms, the Temple will be a place of prayer where the sense of the eyes of God on us is experienced. The buildings in which we worship are icons of the history of the believers who have over time literally left parts of themselves from celebrations of birth, marriage and death to daily and weekly moments of deep thanksgiving in spiritual resonance with God. Jesus sheds light on the danger of shifting our focus from the encounter with the Divine to manipulation of the tradition or the Law to satisfy the requirements of religious observance. Who is being served when our tradition is placed before our invitation to join Jesus as the living Law and the visible Temple of compassion, love and mercy. When our legal observance is more evident than our inclusion of others and our desire to serve we may be in our example "teaching human precepts as doctrines" (Mark7:7)