On Buildings and Bread and Blood
“On Buildings and Bread and Blood”
August 25, 2024
Our family just returned from visits in Morocco and Spain, where we toured massive houses of worship dedicated to the memory of earthly rulers and to the glory of God. Built on the Atlantic shoreline, the Grand Mosque of Hassan II in Casablanca stretches 680 feet heavenward. The minaret features a laser aimed in the direction of Mecca. The mosque’s gigantic doors open to admit 25,000 worshipers onto richly tiled floors. The mosque was built by a King to honor a former King, serving purposes both religious and royal.
In 1617, in Granada’s Alhambra, the center of power for Muslim and Christian monarchies, Charles V built St. Mary’s Church over the rubble of a repatriated mosque. He commissioned Baroque artisans to turn a mountain of gold looted from the Americas into timeless altar pieces dedicated to the worship of God. He placed the church next to the king’s palace, serving purposes both religious and royal.
Seeing these impressive houses of worship up close helped me breathe in the rarified air of this week’s texts, listening in as Solomon lifts up a prayer of dedication for the Temple of Jerusalem. Thirteen years in the making, the temple was designed to put the God of David (and Jerusalem, and Solomon) on the map. Solomon’s prayer is a study in contrasts. He acknowledged the way that the Temple’s size and beauty overwhelmed the senses. Solomon praised the God who was too big to be contained, yet who consented (Solomon hoped) to “dwell” with Israel in this house. Solomon reminded God of his promise to keep his royal line on the throne, imploring God to remember his promises. Solomon located this temple as “true North” for Israel’s prayers and foresaw the Temple as a destination point for foreigners who would come to marvel and seek the favor of Israel’s Lord. Solomon expected the Temple to exert a centripetal force on both the faithful of Israel and on outsiders beyond. On the one hand Solomon felt pride to provide a house suitable for God’s honor and presence; on the other hand his prayer subtly acknowledged that God stood beyond all this ostentation and deal-making. Still, the Temple served purposes religious and royal.
Big houses of worship serve diverse purposes and communicate mixed narratives. Their opulence can point to the grandeur of God, and sometimes to the elevated status of the builders, whose names are forever linked to the building. Grand structures, and the prayers prayed in them, can instill confidence in the relationship that the parishioners have with the Divine. Solomon all but says: “We have a deal, right?” And yet we worry about the effects a church’s “edifice complex” can have on the people who find a home there.
What does your congregation’s meeting space say about the people who gather there to pray? What were the assumptions of the builders? What has changed between the time when your building was dedicated and now?
Our morning scripture from John 6 tells us that Jesus hung out in church buildings too, “teaching in the synagogue at Capernaum.” That old synagogue of Jesus’ day is long gone, but what remains of the newer synagogue put up in its place tells us that Capernaum boasted some well-heeled patrons.
For all the importance we place upon church buildings and “structuring” our services, Jesus had little to say about the capacity of brick and mortar to create a dwelling place for God. Instead, this week’s reading from John records Jesus’ reflections on what it means to provide a home for the Divine:
“Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood abide in me, and I in them. Just as the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so whoever eats me will live because of me. This is the bread that came down from heaven, not like that which your ancestors ate, and they died. But the one who eats this bread will live forever.” (John 6:56-69)
Do we (and our church worship leaders) spend as much time, creativity, and energy attempting to “embody” the flesh and blood of Jesus as we do caring for “bricks and mortar” maintenance issues? Are our churches “on the move” in the world or static and unmovable? How does your church encourage members to eat Christ’s flesh and drink Jesus’ blood?
Timothy W. Ross is the Director of Pastoral Care for Christian Missionary Fellowship, Indianapolis, IN