Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.”
— John 2:19
This morning, I’m doing something different. We benefit, as 21st Century believers, from two millennia of faithful literature.
If…
That is…
We actually read it.
Today, instead of sharing my own thoughts on the second chapter of John, I’ve drawn from the wisdom of a Pastor named Augustine, who ministered to God’s people in the fifth century, primarily in North Africa. This isn’t his whole sermon, just an extract, slightly modified from a recent translation into modern English1.
Over the next year, I will drop in on other forebears in the faith, and draw on their counsel too. I’d love to hear who you would like to hear from.
Here are Augustine’s thoughts:
Adam was one man, and that man is the whole human race. It is as if he were broken and scattered and then gathered up and kneaded into one fellowship and one spiritual harmony. And now this one poor man groans like Adam, but in Christ he is being made new, because Adam-without-sin has come that in his flesh that he might undo the sin of Adam, and, in himself, might restore Adam to the image of God.
So the flesh of Christ comes from Adam; so from Adam comes the temple which the Jews destroyed and which the Lord rebuilt on the third day. For he raised up his own flesh: notice that he was God, equal to the Father.
My brothers and sisters, the apostle says, The one who raised him from the dead. About whom does he say it? About the Father: Made obedient, he says, unto death, even death on a cross; which is why God also raised him up from the dead, and gave him the name which is above every name. (Phil 2:8–9)
The Lord was raised up and exalted.
He raised him up.
Who did?
The Father, to whom he said in the psalms, Raise me up, and I will repay them (Ps 40:11). So then, the Father raised him up. Did he not raise himself up? What does the Father do without the Word? What does the Father do without his one and only Son?
Listen to how he too was God: Pull down this temple, and in three days I will raise it up. Did he ever say, “Pull down the temple for the Father to raise it up on the third day”? But just as when the Father raises up, the Son also raises up, so too when the Son raises up, the Father also raises up, because the Son said, I and the Father are one (Jn 10:30).
We bless the Lord our God, who has gathered us together for rejoicing in spirit. Let us always be humble of heart, and let our joy always be in his presence. Let us not be puffed up with any prosperity of this world, this age, but let us realize that our true happiness only comes when these things have passed away. Right now, my brothers and sisters, our joy must be in hope. No one should rejoice as if in present reality, or he may get stuck to the road. Let all our joy be in hope to come, all our desire on eternal life. With all our sighs let us be panting for Christ. May he, the one most beautiful, be the one we desire, he the one who loved the foul and ugly in order to make them beautiful; to him alone let us pant as we run, and let us always say, May the Lord be glorified, we who desire the peace of his servant (Ps 34:27).
Let’s pray.
Praying through the Bible
Lord,
Let a zeal for your kingdom consume my unholy desires and,
Let not Adam’s sin dwell within the walls of your holy temple.
We thank you, Lord, for the first and the last temple,
For the examples of faith, and provision, and glory that each represents,
and for the steadfast love that has endured through them all,
and stretches through into eternity.
May we, like the disciples, remember your teaching again today.
Your death and resurrection , your ascension and eternal reign,
Show us today what it means to wholly believe the Scriptures,
and the words that Jesus has spoken to us.
May the Word of life reign in our hearts.
Amen
Today’s Readings
John 2, Psalm 13, Psalm 14
These are the sons of Israel: Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Zebulun, Dan, Joseph, Benjamin, Naphtali, Gad, and Asher.
The sons of Judah: Er, Onan and Shelah; these three Bath-shua the Canaanite bore to him. Now Er, Judah’s firstborn, was evil in the sight of the Lord, and he put him to death. His daughter-in-law Tamar also bore him Perez and Zerah. Judah had five sons in all. The sons of Perez: Hezron and Hamul.
1 Chronicles 2:1-52
Recommended Media to Start Your Day
At some point during the 20th century, Poetry became a swear word. While more music is written and published now than ever before, dropping the P-word can evoke such disgust and horror that one might wonder what poetry ever did to deserve such animosity. In the first instalment on a series on John Milton’s Paradise Lost,
touches upon one of the potential reasons. Namely, poetry doesn’t do what we think it will. It won’t conform to our preconceived notions and maybe even our hopes. I hope you will join me in following along with Karen’s cohort of readers. If enough of us do, perhaps the P-word will return to its former glory?
Saint Augustine, Homilies on the Gospel of John 1–40, eds. Allan D. Fitzgerald and Boniface Ramsey, The Works of Saint Augustine: A Translation for the 21st Century, (Hyde Park, NY: New City Press, 2009)
1-2 Chronicles are two of the most overlooked books of the Bible, despite covering great swathes of history, and God’s faithfulness throughout. Each day I’ll share a short portion of these books, so by the end of the year, you’ll have read through them in their entirety.
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