November 9, 2025 at Saint Peter the Apostle in Naples, FL
Ezekiel 47: 1-2, 8-9,12 + Psalm 46 + 1 Corinthians 3: 9-11, 16-17 + John 2: 13-22
It does not make a lot of sense to me to have November 9 set aside on the Church’s calendar to celebrate the Dedication of a 3rd century Basilica in Rome that most people among us have never seen. It’s big. It’s been through neglect and restoration several times. It is the Cathedral Church of Rome. It sits right inside one of the major gates to the city from a time when it’s walls were intact. When people entered the city through that gate, the first thing they saw was the huge church. Now the wall is gone and all that is left is the church and the gate.
What does make sense to me is taking a day, once a year, to let the story we just heard from John’s Gospel sink in and challenge our behavior, our thinking, and our attitudes. That this event actually happened is fairly certain because the other Gospel writers recall it as well. John’s version is a bit different however. In the other versions, it is almost as though they are slightly embarrassed by the behavior of Jesus. They tone it down. Not so with John. It is very deliberate and physical. This was not an impulsive act. Jesus made his own whip, and he went truly berserk. What John would have us see is that Jesus is claiming ownership of the place of worship and he was not pleased about a religion driven my market forces.
He objected to having the Temple look like and be used like a market place where people go to get conveniently what they wanted or needed. That was not the purpose of the Temple. This is point. This is why we might seriously set aside a date once every year to think more deeply and examine more carefully our behavior and attitudes because in many places the market-place attitude about church still prevails.
We move to a new town and we start shopping for a church. We look for a church that meets our needs and gives us what we want. It’s like shopping for the best deals, so we check out what different outlets have to offer. That system works from the inside too. Leaders start thinking that the congregation must be entertained and so programs and planning are all about interest-focused events that sometimes look like recreation. Of course, convenience is always important. If worship is not scheduled to fit in with my social life, I’m off to find something that will. The fear that someone might be challenged by the Gospel or might be offended and leave silences preachers, or turns them into stand-up comics or feeds the Gospel of Prosperity so popular these days, and so very lucrative. This is all market place mentality. Into this situation, enters Jesus Christ. With that, the whole idea of coming to God’s house to get something is called into question.
Jesus did not say that people should not get something and only come to give. He simply reminded us, and still does, that the place belonged to God, and people should come there to encounter God, turning their attention to God in all the ways and movements we call “worship.” It is no different today in this Temple. We are called here into the presence of God, and we respond with praise and thanksgiving. Moved by that presence, we acknowledge our sins and our need for God’s mercy. We come here to listen, to trust in the Word of God. We are reminded to obey God’s Word and God’s Will, and we can ask for help from God and from each other. Anything else misses the mark, and we just as well stay home and watch some preacher on TV with a cup of coffee.
And so, this weekend, the Dedication of a third century Basilica, a thousand miles away, gives us a reason to reaffirm why we are here and let Jesus Christ remind us of what a Church is, why it is built, and what it is we ought to expect and hope for when we step through those doors. We don’t have to feel good all the time, but we should feel God’s love even when it corrects or calls into question our behavior. We ought to find hope here remembering that we are never alone and that burning red candle is our reminder. When be beat down, lonely, and lost, we ought to find respect here coming from those around us filled with the Holy Spirit that draws us together in peace.