Holy Tuesday -- Temple Tuesday

It’s Holy Tuesday also known as "Temple Tuesday" because we read how Jesus spent most of the day in the Temple in Jerusalem -- teaching and using parables to make His points about God’s great love for His people. Jesus knew this was His last week leading up to His death, so I suspect He was determined to leave an unforgettable “last impression”. And He sure did when He chased out the money changers and those buying and selling in the Temple. Of course, Jesus was angry with those who didn't respect this holy place of worship and prayer to our Holy God. Of all the questions Jesus confronted on this day, the one that most stirs me came from a scribe who asked, “Which commandment is the most important of all?” Jesus answered: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength” (Mark 12:28,30). Jesus laid out the answer to our success in this life and hereafter.

Speaking of temples and places of worship during this Holy Week, I’ve been so caught up with the activities of my grandchildren here in Austin, that I didn’t hear about the horrific fire in the majestic Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris until I read a friend’s Facebook post. I read another article that said the blaze was now largely extinguished. One official was quoted as saying the two iconic rectangular towers were saved. Of course, it touches home because I had the opportunity to visit this magnificent cathedral in 2016 and this photo was taken in front of the towers.

“The worst has been avoided, but the battle isn’t fully won yet,” French President Emmanuel Macron said in a statement outside of the cathedral. He also expressed his sympathies to Catholics around the world, the people of Paris and the people of France. “We will rebuild the cathedral together,” Macron said, adding that France will start an international fundraising campaign to raise money for the renovations. I read this quote by Cardinal Daniel DiNardo: “We are a people of hope and of the resurrection, and as devastating as this fire is, I know that the faith and love embodied by this magnificent Cathedral will grow stronger in the hearts of all Christians.” I was inspired when I also read that some of the cathedral’s art may have been saved because of recent renovations. Last week, for instance, 16 copper statues representing the Twelve Apostles and four evangelists were removed with a crane so that the spire could be renovated. How providential it seemed that the four evangelists were the ones who detailed this Holy Tuesday in their Gospels.

As devastating as the Notre Dame fire was to a man-made structure and as magnificent and majestic it may have been, none compares to the Temple of the Holy Spirit that Jesus sent to reside in each of His followers when death couldn't hold Him and He rose from the grave. It is a Temple not made by human hands, but by a "God made flesh" Man -- Jesus Christ. Jesus promised He would send the Holy Spirit to live in us. "Do you not know that your bodies are Temples of the Holy Spirit, Who is in you, Whom you have received from God? You are not your own;" (1 Corinthians 6:19)

Thank you, Lord Jesus, for Temple Tuesday, for so greatly showing us LOVE and for sending your Holy Spirit to abide in us!