God’s Dwelling Place

In next Sunday’s Gospel, Jesus says:“Whoever loves me will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our dwelling with him.” (John 14:23)

What does it mean that God ‘dwells with us’?  It tells us that God is at home in us…that God’s life and our lives are inseparable.  And it’s another way of explaining our long held belief that we are temples of the Holy Spirit.  If all this is true, then imagine the reverence we should have for each other. 

Last weekend the sanctuary lamp burned out in St. Richard’s Church. Chris, the church musician, noticed it and immediately put a new candle in it.  That lamp reminds us that Christ’s true presence in our tabernacle is a central focus in our Catholic Churches. 

Just as that sanctuary lamp reflects the true presence of Christ in the tabernacle, I sometimes think it might be good to have a similar lamp in the body of our churches…reminding us that God’s dwelling place is also in us and our communities.

    

Homework: Light a candle and put it on a table in your home. Sit quietly and think about Christ’s presence in your life. Be grateful that you also are a dwelling place of God.