My Father was an incredible builder. When I was young I thought that there was nothing that he could not do. Throw any project his way and you could consider it to be done. In the early to mid 50s my parents decided to buy a piece of property “down the shore”. To you international readers, “down the shore” meant the beaches on the Atlantic Coast of the state of New Jersey. It is the region characterized (or should I say MIS-characterized) by the reality TV program, “Jersey Shore”.
My parent’s plan was to get us out of the city (we lived and grew up in Jersey City, NJ) at least for part of the year to experience the country life. At the time, this area of the shore was very uninhabited. We literally lived in the woods. So my Father, after they bought the property, went about the business of building us a house. Now when some people say they built a new house, they mean that they hired a contractor who then assembled the needed crew to construct the dwelling. Not my Father. He BUILT our house! Dug and built the foundation, constructed the walls, put on the roof, did the plumbing and electrical work. Our house had my Father written all over it.
And that was the thing. In every room, every wall stud, every electrical outlet, when we turned on the air conditioner, or used the bathroom it was my Father’s work that gave us that house. And because of that, the structure that was our house had become our HOME. It was where we had our friends over for the weekend, it was where we made tree forts, rode our minibikes, bicycles and go carts. It was where my aunts, uncles and cousins came every summer. We had great times and we got in great trouble. It is where my younger brother lives now. It was and always will be where I go when I want to go home.
In today’s first reading David tells Nathan the Prophet that he wants to build a house for God. He feels guilty about all the successes God has given him and the Israelite people and he wants to return the favor. Initially Nathan says, have at it. Do what you have in mind. But then God tells Nathan to convey to David this message. Basically, who are YOU to build a house for ME!? I never asked for a house when I was with you in Egypt or during all the time I wandered with you in the desert. It was I who built the House of David for YOU. I do not need you to build me a house of cedar as I have built for you.
Fast forward to the Gospel. I chose Luke’s Gospel for today’s reading. Today is the Solemnity of St. Joseph, husband of the Blessed Virgin Mary. In this reading we have the familiar story of Jesus getting “lost” in Jerusalem after the Feast of Passover, Mary and Joseph searching frantically for Him. They find Him in the temple teaching the elders. When they ask him why He has done this to them, he responds by asking them did they not know that He must be in His Father’s House.
So was Jesus talking about the four walls that made up the building that was the temple He was in? Was it the continuation of the temple that Solomon built, was destroyed by the Babylonians then rebuilt after the exile and enlarged by Herod? Could it be that Jesus was telling His parents that it is the constructed space that was, in fact, His Father’s House?
I don’t think so. No more than our home down the shore was a home because of the walls my Dad put up as opposed to the memories that made that structure our home. The soul of that building was from what went on inside it. And THAT is what God told Nathan to communicate to David. That God would be with him forever. David’s kingdom will be firm. And God will raise up a son who will endure for all time. Now in the short sense that son was Solomon. But we know that the royal throne that will last forever will be occupied by Jesus Christ. This is what Jesus is really saying to His parents that day in Jerusalem. That the house that Solomon and Herod built is just that…a house. But Jesus makes that house a home. The memories of our faith are made from Jesus occupying our souls. Taking our bodies, which are the house, and turning them into the home with God residing there.
In the desert God traveled with the Israelites in a tent. Not glamorous but mobile. Where they went, so did He. Where they lived, so there God lived. Our temples, and our churches, cannot hold God. Cannot house God. God must reside in our homes…in our hearts…and in our souls. While God resides in the tabernacles of our cathedrals, basilicas and churches, He enters our homes through the eucharist and we take Him with us wherever we go. Know you’re not alone. I’m gonna make this place your home.
