A Holy Temple
by Msgr. Richard Henning

First Reading:
  Leviticus 19:1-2, 17-18
Responsorial:
  Psalm 103:1-2, 3-4, 8,
  10, 12-13
Second Reading:
  1 Corinthians 3:16-23
Gospel Reading:
  Matthew 5:38-48

---

The Book of Genesis looms large in the “imagination” of the New Testament. As an overture to the entire theological sweep of Old and New Testaments, it also provides a foundation for comprehending the meaning of the Christ event.
 
In the ancient world, people understood just as well as modern folks that the world is a deeply flawed place. On the one hand, we celebrate the beauty and wonder of life and creation. We rejoice in the gifts of love and goodness. And yet we also mourn the sin, destruction, and death that are so much a part of the human experience. When those moments of fear, grief, and loss are upon us we may be tempted to see all of creation with a jaundiced eye.
 
Genesis acknowledges the conundrum but asserts a counter-cultural and counter-intuitive worldview. Ancient religions posited gods that were a combination of good and evil in order to make sense of a world that seemed both good and evil. Genesis gives clear powerful witness to a single Creator God Who is good and loving. This God creates the world and declares it good. The “motive” for this Creator is nothing less than a pouring out of self in the loving act of creation. Genesis goes on to reveal the way in which the misuse of human freedom mars this good creation. It is critical to note that creation is in itself good. It is not flawed in its origin - it is “broken” by rebellion and sin. And if the Biblical witness is heard in its entirety, the Creator has but one great “hope“ - the reconciliation and restoration of creation.
 
Psalm 103 prophetically asserts this loving stance of God. The Psalm expresses the gratitude of a man delivered from illness and wonders at the depth and breadth of the restoration – far beyond even the request or imagination of the supplicant.
 
As the New Testament strives to comprehend and proclaim the good news, it clearly understands that, in Christ, the great moment of healing is upon us. The grace of Jesus is not a patch on a tear, it is a restoration of the original. In Him we see the “perfect” – that which is whole, integral, entirely authentic.
 
When Paul addresses the Corinthians, he is deeply aware of this painfully beautiful mystery. It is a cruciform mystery. The Christ, like the Creator, has poured Himself out in an act of pure love. The believer, drawn into communion of life with the restorer of all things, is not “fixed,” but restored.
 
In the Old Testament worldview, holiness was a kind of separation. The people acknowledged that God was utterly apart, other. Their call to holiness was as a people set apart to give glory to this God. Notice how the passage from Leviticus would have this people united and authentic in their fidelity to God. They may not hate one another for they have this higher calling to act in accord with the will of the Creator – although the text seems to imagine this obligation as directed primarily to their fellow Israelites.
 
Notice how the well-trained Pharisee Paul has moved in his understanding of holiness. He tells the Corinthians that they have now been brought into such intimate relationship with the Creator that they are to be His dwelling place. Again, we are not talking here about repair, but an entirely new identity. They have been restored to fullness by this Crucified Lord, and their way of living must flow from this new state of life.
 
The same insight must be applied as we hear more from Jesus’s Sermon on the Mount in Matthew. It may be tempting to think that Jesus is providing ideals for the Christian life. The problem with that understanding is that it guts the true power of the Sermon. Ideals are never actually realized. The difference here in the Sermon is that Jesus’ teachings are lived as much as they are spoken. He has walked the path Himself, and by grace He accompanies us now on that same path. He would have us go further, do more. He cites sensible law that revenge must not continue in an endless cycle, but then He commands that we exceed the sensible. He even makes the apparently unreasonable demand that we be “perfect” as God is perfect!
 
How is this possible? Start with the truth of God’s perfection. The term used here might also be translated as “whole” or “fulfilled.” It has the sense of something that is entirely what it is – undivided, authentic. Then consider that Jesus lives this truth. He reveals the truth of God in part because in His humanity He is the face of the original creation. The one who lives in communion with this Jesus has a new identity and a new mission.
 
We often think of ourselves as basically “good” people even as we indulge our temptations and surrender to selfishness, jealousness, and cruelty. How is it that we excuse ourselves? I think sometimes we approach morality like dieting. Even on a strict diet, we “cheat,” and plan to “make it up.” We have a sort of ledger in our minds – as long as our deeds are mostly good, we can feel ourselves “good.” The readings today do not permit such self-justification. They reveal the depth of God’s plan for our restoration and renewal. If we would be God’s Holy Temple, then we must grasp the vastness in the change occasioned by God’s grace and the gift of His Son. We are called to be who we are – who He has made us to be.