“Destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up….He was speaking of the temple of His body”. (John 2:19,21)

   In this Sunday’s Gospel reading, Jesus is teaching us to see His meaning and purpose of a temple.  A Temple can be defined as “the place where God and humanity meet”. 
   And Jesus tells us here in these words of the Gospel of John:  HE is the temple…where God and humanity meet.  As John writes in the first chapter of his Gospel, ”And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father's only son, full of grace and truth.“ John 1:14
   Indeed, when the 2nd Person of the Holy Trinity became human (at the conception and birth
Of Jesus), God came very close to all humanity.  God in Jesus Christ came into the world so that all people can be close to God in His Kingdom, now and for all eternity. 
   As 1 Corinthians 6:19 tells us, “your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you”.  That became a reality when Jesus redeemed us and made us God’s people. 
   As the Apostle Paul continues, “you were bought with a price, therefore glorify God in your body”. (1 Corinthians 6:20)
   So now consider what this means to each of us. God is with us in all our thoughts, words and actions!  That certainly will lead us toward all that God wants for us.  But what exactly is that?
   Jesus answers what God wants for us in His death and resurrection.  He did this so that our sins will all be forgiven. In His life we have eternal life with Him.  He wants us to know God as  Love. And He wants us to be with Him, now and forever. 
   May this be Good News for each of us, to know and trust in the God of Love and Grace for all People!

​Pastor Steve