GOD'S TEMPLES
We are the
living temples of God, more precious to Him than any building.
Who
likes to pay taxes, especially when we think they are unreasonable? Jesus and
His disciples were confronted by tax collectors on the issue of tax evasion.
The Jews thought of their temple as very precious to them, not because it was
laden with valuable stones and metals, but because they saw it as the special
abode of God on earth. It was, therefore, the supreme place for the worship of
God. All Jews had to contribute by means of a temple tax to the upkeep of this
magnificent edifice.
When
Peter was asked whether Jesus would pay the temple tax, he did not hesitate to
answer in the affirmative. We, too, must pay so as not to cause bad example. In
fact, we must go beyond our duty in order that we may show others what they
ought to do. The scriptural expression to give no offense doesn't refer to
insult or annoyance; rather it means to put no stumbling block in the way of
another that would cause them to trip and fall. Jesus would not allow Himself
anything which might possibly be a bad example for someone else. It's about our
responsibilities and obligations even when we think they are unpleasant or
bad.
But
there is more to this story. Jesus takes the occasion to teach an important
lesson about Himself and the temple. He observes that kings do not take tax
from their own sons, and He thereby implies that He is not a subject of God,
but His Son. Only gradually did the earliest Christians grow in a realization
of the full extent of this truth. Jesus is the unique Son of God, equally
divine with Him, appearances to the contrary notwithstanding. His humanity is
the new Temple wherein dwells the fullness of divinity. We have been given a
share in what Jesus is. We, too, are temples of God!
There
was a hint of this marvelous communication of God to humans in the vision that
Ezekiel saw. This vision comes to him in the land of the Chaldeans, a pagan
land far from the temple in Jerusalem. Ezekiel realizes that God's presence is
not limited to any one place.
As
we must appreciate the identity of Jesus, so should we also appreciate our own?
We are the living temples of God, more precious to Him than any building. God's
life and love are within us since we are His children, made sons and daughters
in the Son. Because we are God's temples, He does not exact tribute from us,
only the free response of love.