Preamble:
To all of the incoming churches, bless you my brothers. I am with great eagerness looking forward to seeing that light which the Holy Spirit burns individually and uniquely within you, may God bless you all! Here is a first fruit of what I believe God has given me, I hope it is good food for the journey, and if it does not inspire or taste bad remember my brother this is only the opinion of a catholic pleb.
1st Chronicles 22 : 5-19
“Be brave and steadfast; do not fear or loose heart. See with great efforts I have laid up for the house of the Lord a hundred thousand talents of gold, a million talents of silver, and bronze and iron in such great quantities that they cannot be weighted.” Have we not here what Paul has outlandishly claimed in saying, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavens.”(Ephesians 1 :3) In this old testament passage, we get a glimpse through the lattice of the workings of the great builder. Look how meticulously David acts, storing up in his life time the very best materials for his son to build a resplendent house for the God of the Jews. And in seeing how David commits himself to laboring for his son, we see how God provides for us richly for all that he calls us to build in our own lives.
“I have also stored up wood and stones, to which you must add.” God makes room for us on his cross for the sole purpose that he wants our active participation in the redemption of the world. He is a true father to us, though he can do all right, it is much more pleasing for him to see us little children to stumble in doing good and growing in his image. Knowing this then we should be slow to the anxieties of failing the heart of our Father through poor works. What father would disdain a daughter or son for poorly attempting a good action, and do we not have the best of fathers? We also should laugh softly at our achievements, for what stumbling child can be look at in the light of grandeur, save in the eyes of their father.
“Set to work, therefor, and the Lord will be with you!” We each share in the call of Solomon, our work, God’s will, is to each build a house for the Lord to be worshiped. But translating this into our own life becomes difficult, as God does not lack imagination. Early in the spiritual life, we begin to learn that we cannot simply mimic others to fulfill the spiritual conquest that our Lord has created us to complete. But there is one commonality we share that remains universal, we should not confuse our daily works with the house that God wishes us to build. Christ is the corner stone of the Holy Catholic Church as St. Francis of Assisi rightly understood. The church is not comprised of stones made from human hands. The singular goal in our lives is to lay ourself in alignment with that great cornerstone, to allow the master builder to lay upon us the stone he sees as most fitting; to be one member of the body of Christ. We are all called to cultivate a relationship with God, and fall deeply in love with him. We are all temples of the holy spirit, we are the house of worship, the Lord wishes us to build.
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