In our Gospel reading for the third Sunday in Lent we have the story of Jesus cleansing the temple and then speaking about his resurrection. Jesus has been angered by the corruption occurring within the temple. Money changers were charging exorbitant rates for currency exchanges, that enabled people to pay the required temple contribution. Sellers would be charging inflated prices for animals that had to be used in the temple sacrifices. All of this placed inequitable burdens on those who came to the temple to participate in the ritual life; turning what was meant to be a holy place into an exploitative marketplace not centred on God.

After cleansing the temple, Jesus then goes on to talk about himself in terms of being the temple that, after being destroyed, would be raised in three days. Jesus knows that for those who would follow him the system of temple sacrifices would come to cease. Yet those who followed Jesus would come to understand that his ultimate sacrifice, for the sin of all humankind, would become the way by which all people could find forgiveness and reconciliation with God. In turn we would become living sacrifices to God by following the way of Jesus.

At the time of the publication of John’s Gospel the Second Temple in Jerusalem had been destroyed by the Roman Empire. The Johannite community needed to explain that the worship of God was for them now centred on Christ who had become the new temple and the lamb of God. For early Jewish followers of Jesus, this was a way of providing hope and solace following the traumatic event of losing the temple whilst gaining that new understanding of who God is in Christ. As Christianity grew amongst the gentile people it helped the early church understand its roots within ancient Judaism whilst also understanding that had it developed a new identity with a distinctive theology and practice.

As the church expanded it became associated with the mixed gatherings that would occur in people’s homes and that crossed social, economic, and ethnic boundaries. The early church was therefore not formed around the bricks and mortar of a temple building (dedicated church buildings did not appear until later) but instead was formed through the ‘living stones’ that consisted of the disciples of Jesus meeting together through the power of the Holy Spirit.

Today the life of the Church has become very focussed around buildings that have been constructed and dedicated as being places of worship. We spend a lot of our time, energy, and resources repairing and maintaining these buildings as well as looking at how we can make changes to sites and properties that will enable the mission of the church to be developed, sustained, and flourishing. Whilst work is very important it is also vital that we do not lose focus. We must remember that ultimately our faith is not centred on our buildings but is centred on Christ and around the ‘living stones’; that is the people of God filled with and empowered by the Holy Spirit. The mission is our calling to worship, learn & care, service, and evangelise amongst all people and in so doing help make more disciples of Jesus Christ. The buildings exist to help resource that mission, not the other way around.

In this season of Lent I encourage you to reflect on how the faith we have in Jesus and how our discipleship goes beyond the buildings. How can we ensure that our whole life reflects the calling that we have been given as disciples of Jesus? How can we partner with God in the world so that others might come to know and love Jesus?