Newsletter – Dedication of the Lateran Basilica. Year C.

REFLECTION by Dianne Bergant CSA

The basilica of St John Lateran is the cathedral of Rome, the mother church of all Roman Catholic churches.

The temple was the place on earth where God dwelt amid the people. It was God’s presence, not the worship performed there, that made it a sacred site. There is something incarnational about this presence of God. It is manifested in the concrete, in something with shape and character. Still, as important as the temple may be, it is only a building. Paul insists that we are the temple of God; we are the manifestation of God in the world today. The Spirit of God dwells in us, making the believing community the living temple of God.

Today’s readings offer us two pictures of the temple of God, two characterisations of the community of believers. In one, the temple has become a marketplace, and the community is preoccupied with the business of the world. In Ezekiel, we see water from the temple transforming everything in its path. As water flowed from the temple in Ezekiel’s vision, so grace flows from the temple that is the people of God. Which image more closely characterises the community of which we are a part? Are we able to transform the wilderness of our world into a place that is teeming with life? Is the community truly the presence of God in the world today? Or is the temple simply a place where ritual is performed but the concerns of God take second place to the affairs of the world?

© Dianne Bergant CSA
Dianne Bergant CSA was a Professor of Biblical Studies at Catholic Theological Union in Chicago, where she taught from 1978 to 2014. She holds a BS in Elementary Education from Marian College, Fond du Lac, WI; an MA and PhD in Biblical Languages and Literature from St Louis University. Amongst other things, she served as President of Catholic Biblical Association of America (2000-2001) and has been awarded honorary doctorates from several other universities. She was an active member of the Chicago Catholic/Jewish Scholars Dialogue (1988-2017) and sat on the editorial boards of The Bible Today (1979-2005), Biblical Theology Bulletin (1990-2014), Catholic Biblical Quarterly (1992-2001), New Theology Review (1997-2003), Teaching Theology and Religion (2003-2005), and Chicago Studies (2003-2009). She has taught and lectured in many places in the United States and abroad and has written numerous books, articles and chapters in books.