A Devotion for Lent 3: Where the Holy Dwells

As I read through the lectionary* readings this week, I was struck by the breadth and depth of the selection of readings. Sometimes, it is very clear how the lectionary holds together; other times, I find myself scratching my head and wondering how to connect a seemingly obscure Old Testament story with a word from Paul. This week’s readings are varied, but held together, they tell the arc of the Christian story:

"I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery"(Exodus 20.2).

"The heavens are telling the glory of God; and the firmament proclaims his handiwork" (Psalm 19.1).

"We proclaim Christ crucified…Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God." (1 Corinthians 1.23-24).

Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up” (John 2.19).

The skeleton of God’s presence and action in human history comes alive in the reading and hearing of these Scriptures. We read of who God is, what God has created, God’s work in Christ Jesus, and Jesus’s redemptive work on the cross.

The readings this week paint us a picture of how God, in God’s power and might, also draws ever close to us. Particularly, the Gospel reading in John 2, where, after turning over the tables of the money launderers, Jesus describes himself as a living Temple that, once destroyed, will rise again in three days. The Scripture speaks to us that Christ has become a living dwelling place of the Holy, where we can interact with the literal presence and power of God; the body of Christ is given to us, and rises for us so that we might know God fully and deeply.

In the clearing out of the temple, Jesus is reclaiming a space as sacred.

Even more, he claims his own body as a sacred space - the dwelling place of God.

The power of this Scripture us not just how Jesus gives his own body as the place where God dwells, but how we can also be his body in the world. As his followers, we become living temples, sacred spaces where God moves and breathes and works. In our very bodies, and thereby through the work that our bodies do, we offer a place of sanctuary where the work of God can be done, a living sacredness for the restoration of the world. 

In our bones and beams of ourselves and our work, Christ can be known and shared.

In this season of Lent, what stories are our bodies and work telling? Do our lives proclaim that sacred space where God indeed dwells?

May you find God’s sacred space within your bodies and your work.

In Christ,

Chaplain Amy

*The lectionary is a selected group of Scriptures appointed for each week of the Christian year. The readings usually center on a theme, are (somewhat) linear and follow a three year cycle. You can find the weekly lectionary that the UMC follows here:https://www.umcdiscipleship.org/worship/lectionary-calendar.