Temples of Stone, Flesh, and Bread
Commentary
The first temple, built under the leadership of King Solomon, was sacred in memory. Never mind that Solomon’s temple would not have been as impressive as the second temple, completed by Herod the Great. Solomon was beloved in memory. Herod was not. In this passage, Solomon dedicates a temple of stone. We learn from Paul that the people of God are the living temple. And Jesus, the living bread, is the living temple, and will be so revealed at the end!
1 Kings 8:(1, 6, 10-11) 22-30, 41-43
Solomon dedicates the temple and his spoken dedicatory prayer at the temple creates a new order – or at least the order that religious leaders wished to establish, that all other temples, holy sites, and competing branches of the faith are no longer valid, regardless of their prior history. A spoken prayer offered up in the presence of all the people is also speaking for God. That’s tightrope walking. This portion of the prayer is telling God the history of their relationship, which God probably already knows, both personally with Solomon and as a people. So this prayer is really to tell the people that this is the way it is.
There is also ceremony. There are long poles, and an ark with the empty throne held up by the cherubim, and inside the ark where one might expect treasures beyond wonder we find nothing! Except for God’s holy words, the ten words as the commandments were known. Solomon recalls then the history, referencing the Exodus but focusing on his father’s story and how God chose the son to build the temple.
There is nothing cautionary or confessional about his father David’s bad choices (one of which resulted in Solomon), and the fracturing of the royal family that resulted in mayhem is and death. By contrast, the psalms are full of historical confession.
But God is praised as one who hears prayer and forgives. And in the final three verses of this selection, the God some is considered nationalistic is a universal
God. See Leviticus 19:34 for instance.
Unspoken, but implied, is that the God who traveled by tent with the people during their wandering is now tied to one spot where God will now be perfectly worshipped.
This description of an inauguration of a golden age however was codified and written during the exile, when the temple was destroyed and people were gathering in the precursors to the synagogues and God’s Word was read. That’s the tension we live with. A longing for God pinned in one place back in memory and looking longingly to the future and the New Jerusalem. The reality of a living God who walks with us in exile.
Ephesians 6:10-20
Put on the whole armor of Christ.
When the apostle writes, “…our struggle is not against blood and flesh but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places,” I take comfort. For in his call to arms he is not asking us to target our fellow human beings who, as I mentioned elsewhere, all bear the image of God. Whenever we put on the whole armor of God and then take it on ourselves to purify our planet by killing off the ones we call heretics, the results are disastrous for us and for God’s image among those who are not yet believers. Don’t believe me. I invite you to stroll through the more than one thousand pages of The Martyr’s Mirror, a record of all the Anabaptist martyrs persecuted, tortured, and killed in horrifying ways by their fellow Christians. (For those not keeping score, the Anabaptists were the religious dissenters who descendants include Mennonites, Amish, Brethren, and other peaceful souls who still find resistance today).
I’d much rather be engaged in combat against those responsible for this present darkness, but that brings us back down to Planet Earth again, because I’m not up in the clouds taking whacks and ducking flaming arrows from the forces of evil. I’m here. We’re all here. And our part in the battle is sharing the Good News of Jesus Christ and, I suspect, feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, visiting those sick or in prison, and otherwise serving the least of these.
And now picking up on these thoughts: There is something bigger going on. We think of the church as a building, a latter day temple, the headquarters and command center for the kingdom. But all this talk of armor should make it clear we are the infantry, the foot soldiers, ready to move at a moment’s notice. The ministries of the kingdom may require us to be on the move, whether down the street, across town, or around the globe. We’re part of something big. We are the living temple of God. Our lives are our worship. And it’s often necessary to ready to be on the move, physically or spiritually. Be prepared for marching orders!
John 6:56-59
I think there are elements of the tension in the passage from Kings in this reading. The signs, as miracles are referred to in the Gospel of John, point to Jesus and foreshadow the kingdom. The feeding of the multitude points to the perfect sacrifice, the Lamb of God, and the feast we will all share in, but the people want a temple of stone that doesn’t move or change. They want more bread. Again and again. Jesus offers them something eternally sustaining - himself. Jesus can walk with us (See Footprints in the Sand) but he can’t if he’s a short order holy cook, a spiritual vending machine.
Some leave. Some don’t. Jesus doesn’t change his stance to match the polling numbers. These are hard words, but they are true words. The Good News of Jesus Christ doesn’t always measure up to what we demand from our worldly point of view, the faithful wish granter, the cheerleader, the supporter of our politics and the excuser of our faults.
Jesus is not a convenience store. Jesus is the Lord of life. But ask yourself. Where else can we go? Here is the Bread of life. His are the words of life.
Flesh and blood, some reject hind, but where else can we go?
1 Kings 8:(1, 6, 10-11) 22-30, 41-43
Solomon dedicates the temple and his spoken dedicatory prayer at the temple creates a new order – or at least the order that religious leaders wished to establish, that all other temples, holy sites, and competing branches of the faith are no longer valid, regardless of their prior history. A spoken prayer offered up in the presence of all the people is also speaking for God. That’s tightrope walking. This portion of the prayer is telling God the history of their relationship, which God probably already knows, both personally with Solomon and as a people. So this prayer is really to tell the people that this is the way it is.
There is also ceremony. There are long poles, and an ark with the empty throne held up by the cherubim, and inside the ark where one might expect treasures beyond wonder we find nothing! Except for God’s holy words, the ten words as the commandments were known. Solomon recalls then the history, referencing the Exodus but focusing on his father’s story and how God chose the son to build the temple.
There is nothing cautionary or confessional about his father David’s bad choices (one of which resulted in Solomon), and the fracturing of the royal family that resulted in mayhem is and death. By contrast, the psalms are full of historical confession.
But God is praised as one who hears prayer and forgives. And in the final three verses of this selection, the God some is considered nationalistic is a universal
God. See Leviticus 19:34 for instance.
Unspoken, but implied, is that the God who traveled by tent with the people during their wandering is now tied to one spot where God will now be perfectly worshipped.
This description of an inauguration of a golden age however was codified and written during the exile, when the temple was destroyed and people were gathering in the precursors to the synagogues and God’s Word was read. That’s the tension we live with. A longing for God pinned in one place back in memory and looking longingly to the future and the New Jerusalem. The reality of a living God who walks with us in exile.
Ephesians 6:10-20
Put on the whole armor of Christ.
When the apostle writes, “…our struggle is not against blood and flesh but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places,” I take comfort. For in his call to arms he is not asking us to target our fellow human beings who, as I mentioned elsewhere, all bear the image of God. Whenever we put on the whole armor of God and then take it on ourselves to purify our planet by killing off the ones we call heretics, the results are disastrous for us and for God’s image among those who are not yet believers. Don’t believe me. I invite you to stroll through the more than one thousand pages of The Martyr’s Mirror, a record of all the Anabaptist martyrs persecuted, tortured, and killed in horrifying ways by their fellow Christians. (For those not keeping score, the Anabaptists were the religious dissenters who descendants include Mennonites, Amish, Brethren, and other peaceful souls who still find resistance today).
I’d much rather be engaged in combat against those responsible for this present darkness, but that brings us back down to Planet Earth again, because I’m not up in the clouds taking whacks and ducking flaming arrows from the forces of evil. I’m here. We’re all here. And our part in the battle is sharing the Good News of Jesus Christ and, I suspect, feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, visiting those sick or in prison, and otherwise serving the least of these.
And now picking up on these thoughts: There is something bigger going on. We think of the church as a building, a latter day temple, the headquarters and command center for the kingdom. But all this talk of armor should make it clear we are the infantry, the foot soldiers, ready to move at a moment’s notice. The ministries of the kingdom may require us to be on the move, whether down the street, across town, or around the globe. We’re part of something big. We are the living temple of God. Our lives are our worship. And it’s often necessary to ready to be on the move, physically or spiritually. Be prepared for marching orders!
John 6:56-59
I think there are elements of the tension in the passage from Kings in this reading. The signs, as miracles are referred to in the Gospel of John, point to Jesus and foreshadow the kingdom. The feeding of the multitude points to the perfect sacrifice, the Lamb of God, and the feast we will all share in, but the people want a temple of stone that doesn’t move or change. They want more bread. Again and again. Jesus offers them something eternally sustaining - himself. Jesus can walk with us (See Footprints in the Sand) but he can’t if he’s a short order holy cook, a spiritual vending machine.
Some leave. Some don’t. Jesus doesn’t change his stance to match the polling numbers. These are hard words, but they are true words. The Good News of Jesus Christ doesn’t always measure up to what we demand from our worldly point of view, the faithful wish granter, the cheerleader, the supporter of our politics and the excuser of our faults.
Jesus is not a convenience store. Jesus is the Lord of life. But ask yourself. Where else can we go? Here is the Bread of life. His are the words of life.
Flesh and blood, some reject hind, but where else can we go?
