For daily readings, see http://www.usccb.org/nab/092607.shtml
This week from the Old Testament we have heard readings of joy as the Israelites are being released from exile by the Persian kings and allowed to return to Jerusalem and to rebuild the temple. I have thought a lot this week about the construction of the new Church at St. Michael the Archangel in Leawood, Kansas, where I was assigned before being made vocation director for the Archdiocese. What a joy it will be to see a beautiful Church be brought to completion, which will give witness to the faith of the parishioners who have sacrificed to make it possible, and will remind them of the dignity they have as sharers in the victory of Jesus Christ over sin and death, and as citizens of the heavenly Jerusalem.
Of course the kingdom of God is no longer simply realized as the gift of a physical homeland like the city of Jerusalem or the land of Israel. For this reason, Jesus tells his disciples as they go preaching not to worry about the roof over their heads, for the kingdom of God now exists wherever Jesus is present, and He is to be made present everywhere by the preaching of his disciples. He is most present through the sacramental life of the Church, which physically continues the mission of Christ by touching the lives of people just like our savior did 2000 years ago. The fullest physical presence of Jesus is found in the Eucharist, and this faith should be shown in the building of Churches that indicate not just the meeting place of like-minded people, but the mystical presence of Christ.
The building of a new Church and its dedication should renew the faith of the Church just as the faith of the Israelites was renewed by the reconstruction of the temple in Jerusalem. But even more than that, the dedication of a new Church should indicate that the good news of Jesus has reached a new place on the earth, and the people of that town have made a home in which Jesus will remain.
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