SWORD OF THE SPIRIT                                                                                               1070

“Notre Dame Lessons”

And as he came out of the temple, one of his disciples said to him, “Look, Teacher, what wonderful stones and what wonderful buildings!”; And while some were speaking of the temple, how it was adorned with noble stones and offerings, he said, “As for these things that you see, the days will come when there will not be left here one stone upon another that will not be thrown down.” (Mark 13:1; Luke 21:5-6)

The recent Notre Dame fire was indeed a tragedy. As I watched the news reports and listened to the commentary about the building: its architecture and artifacts, I was reminded of our reference Scripture where the disciples marveled at the construction of the temple in Jerusalem. Jesus took that occasion to be a teaching moment about the signs of the end of the age and put in perspective how temporary the things of this world are.

The Notre Dame Cathedral is indeed an iconic historical structure. Because of that fame the church had compromised its spiritual purpose in favor of capitalizing on its commercialism. This reminded me of the Scripture where in His zeal for His Father’s house Jesus dealt harshly with the commercialism of the temple.

And making a whip of cords, he drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and oxen. And he poured out the coins of the money-changers and overturned their tables. And he told those who sold the pigeons, “Take these things away; do not make my Father’s house a house of trade.” His disciples remembered that it was written, “Zeal for your house will consume me.” (John 2:15-17)

Later news reports indicated French President Macron’s claim that the cathedral will be rebuilt in five years. This was met with much criticism as an unrealistic timeline. Again, I was reminded of Scripture where Jesus spoke of raising the temple of His body in three days.

So the Jews said to him, “What sign do you show us for doing these things?” Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” The Jews then said, “It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and will you raise it up in three days?” But he was speaking about the temple of his body. When therefore he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this, and they believed the Scripture and the word that Jesus had spoken. (John 2:18-22)

The news reported of the bravery of the individuals who not only fought the fire but at great personal risk, rescued the crown of thorns artifact which is believed to have been the crown of thorns placed upon Jesus’ head at His crucifixion. As with all religious artifacts we must take care to avoid worshipping the artifact in lieu of worshipping the one true God, our Lord, Jesus Christ. He removed the high places and broke the pillars and cut down the Asherah. And he broke in pieces the bronze serpent that Moses had made, for until those days the people of Israel had made offerings to it (it was called Nehushtan). (2 Kings 18:4)

The Living Word of God continues to teach us life lessons through the context of current events. Jesus lives today and because He lives we can have eternal life through Him. No building or religious artifact can do that for us – only Jesus. Let us rejoice in His sacrifice for our salvation. Let us rejoice in His resurrection. He is risen – He is risen indeed!