Going where Christ is

If you are going to follow Jesus, you have to be where he is.

The temple was created in order to honor and worship God, and God honored the creation of the temple by placing His Name on the temple, meaning his glorious presence could be experienced in a special way in that place.

The temple was set up in such a way that God’s presence was at the center in a place called the Holy of Holies. Outside of this internal chamber existed the court of the priests. This is where priests would perform rituals and sacrifices. Moving out from this court was the court for Jewish men, followed by Jewish women, followed by the Gentiles, and then extending out to the rest of the world. The presence of God was there in the holy place, and it would be dispensed outward to the lowest of people.

But, as many experience while reading the Bible, the people of God struggled to show Godliness in their lifestyle, and the temple restricted who could experience the glorious presence of God.

I think so often of John 4 and the Samaritan woman at the well speaking of her inability to get to the temple, so she worships on the mountain, though she recognizes a deficiency in this type of worship.

She tells Jesus and us readers a certain distance she feels from God.

But even those in the temple feel distanced from the true God. In the book of the prophet Ezekiel, the glory of God leaves the temple. Ezekiel prophecies of a time when the presence of God will be returned to the temple for all times.

When Jesus comes he speaks of this restoration of the temple. The physical building that he walks among is not the temple he perceives as the restored temple Ezekiel speaks of.

Rather, Jesus says that the temple to be restored is his own body.

And his body, as we understand it, is the Church.

For the Christian, the presence of God is no longer bound inside buildings but in the human soul. A light has been given to you that cannot be extinguished. So do not seek the light in the Church building or institution, but in the loving embrace of Christian brothers and sisters.

The Pharisees of Jesus’ day were so focused seeking to please God in the temple building that they failed to see God, who is Jesus, walking among the people. God’s presence had left the building, escaped the court of the priests, and instead was walking among the Gentiles and women and the unclean and the sinners.

As we daily strive to be close to God, remind yourself that the Church building is not the only place where you can experience God. In fact, if we take Jesus seriously, we will have to follow Jesus out of the building and into the courts of the poor, the widow, the orphan, and the immigrant.

The Holy of Holies is at a table with the hungry. In the shelter with the homeless. In the hospital with the sick. In the homes of the lonely.

Following Christ is only partially fulfilled in Sunday attendance. It is mostly seen in proximity to those whom we can serve.

If you are going to follow Jesus, you have to be where he is.

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