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 2:19-22~
In the desert of the heart,
Let the healing fountain start;
In the prison of his days,
Teach the free man how to praise.
~W.H. Auden
We are arriving at the end of lent, this is the point when many people are coming off of a purge and preparing for a binge. Whether you gave up soda, shopping, or sarcasm, it's likely that right about now, you're ready for a fix.
But, hopefully this experience has been one of growth and all are realizing that Lent and fasting isn't just about letting go of things and feeling the sacrifice of their absence; it's about preparing ourselves for God and making room for His presence in our lives.
Because we are free creatures we have the capability to choose for ourselves what fills our lives. The problem is that there are so many choices; we have so much stuff surrounding us in life that distracts and has the capability of imprisoning us.
But, hopefully this experience has been one of growth and all are realizing that Lent and fasting isn't just about letting go of things and feeling the sacrifice of their absence; it's about preparing ourselves for God and making room for His presence in our lives.
Because we are free creatures we have the capability to choose for ourselves what fills our lives. The problem is that there are so many choices; we have so much stuff surrounding us in life that distracts and has the capability of imprisoning us.
The free man's prison is made up of his own devices. Relying solely on self shuts out others and closes us off from greater possibilities and a more promising life. When we attempt to build our future by our own strength and works alone, we are simply erecting a prison in which to exist, not a life in which to prosper.
Truly living means taking the gift of free will and using it to choose to give God precedence in our lives.
Humans are really good at taking good things and tainting them; we strip beauty and depth out of experiences by trying to simplify that which is wondrous and compartmentalize that which is complex.
We condemn the actions of others because it is easier than caring about their hearts. We try to achieve perfection on our own because it is less painful than allowing God to work in us. We build temples because we want a concrete place to which we can turn, a physical door that we can open with our own power.
Prison is loneliness; it is separation from love and meaning. Often in an effort to clasp onto freedom, we try to create meaning by building temples from the ground, when the most freeing thing we can do is to put down our hammers and lift up our hands in praise of the grace and mercy that God has bestowed upon us.
The only temple that man can conceive of without Christ is one founded on human pride.
Jesus' crucifixion has redeemed us and His resurrection has shattered our conceptions of life and death. He taught us that true life comes after death. Luckily, we don't have to wait until our bodily death to partake of the life He offers; we simply have to die to self.
Sometimes our temples need to be torn down in order for us to truly live and for proper righteousness to be restored.
The escape from the free man's prison may be simple, but it surely isn't easy. Though, as we've all heard before: few things worth having come easily. So, it logically follows that the road to a meaningful life is the most rewardingly tragic struggle that any of us will ever face.
Truly living means taking the gift of free will and using it to choose to give God precedence in our lives.
Humans are really good at taking good things and tainting them; we strip beauty and depth out of experiences by trying to simplify that which is wondrous and compartmentalize that which is complex.
We condemn the actions of others because it is easier than caring about their hearts. We try to achieve perfection on our own because it is less painful than allowing God to work in us. We build temples because we want a concrete place to which we can turn, a physical door that we can open with our own power.
Prison is loneliness; it is separation from love and meaning. Often in an effort to clasp onto freedom, we try to create meaning by building temples from the ground, when the most freeing thing we can do is to put down our hammers and lift up our hands in praise of the grace and mercy that God has bestowed upon us.
The only temple that man can conceive of without Christ is one founded on human pride.
Jesus' crucifixion has redeemed us and His resurrection has shattered our conceptions of life and death. He taught us that true life comes after death. Luckily, we don't have to wait until our bodily death to partake of the life He offers; we simply have to die to self.
Sometimes our temples need to be torn down in order for us to truly live and for proper righteousness to be restored.
The escape from the free man's prison may be simple, but it surely isn't easy. Though, as we've all heard before: few things worth having come easily. So, it logically follows that the road to a meaningful life is the most rewardingly tragic struggle that any of us will ever face.
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