If you had to associate your faith with a place, where would that be?
Maybe there’s a church that stands out in your memory. Some people are baptized, confirmed, married, and buried in the same church. For some there are different churches that mark these events, but maybe one was especially key in our growth in the faith. Others might think on a camp they attended growing up, a servant event, or even some location where they had a significant spiritual experience/moment.
For the Jews of Jesus’ time there would have been no question what place stood at the heart of their faith. It was Jerusalem. It’s an interesting city to pick to put at the heart of a people and nation. In many ways, it’s less than logical. After all, Jerusalem was generally an isolated city, set in the midst of a mountainous terrain and surrounded on all sides. No main roads were built to it, with the largest of the time bypassing it far to the east and the west. And the reality is that there were few natural resources in the area to cause growth. And yet, despite all this, Jerusalem was the unquestioned center of Israel. Even some Gentiles described Jerusalem as the “most distiniguished city of the whole Orient”. Why?
Because of the Temple and its pilgrimages. Three times a year tens of thousands of people streamed into Jerusalem for the pilgrimages. This made the city a financial center as Temple taxes swelled the treasury and as money was spent in the city to pay for sacrifices. This supported countless industries all year long. This made the city a religious center as people recognized the Temple as God’s dwelling place on earth and the location where they could come for forgiveness and atonement. This made the city a center for leadership as the high priests, priests, and Levites all took turns throughout the year doing their work there, an estimated 20,000 men regularly going there to serve.
There is no place like this in the world for Christians. And in some ways this is good. After the Temple was lost, this cast much of the faith of the Jews into confusion. This was not a problems for the Christians. Indeed, the destruction of the Temple and the Christian response to this event may have in fact helped the Church flourish. And at the same time, Christians do learn something from this. God is not limited to a place on earth, and yet, he does grant his presence inspecial ways. It is important to recongize this idea as we approach God, to think of places as holy and sacred.
So as you ponder places of spiritual significance this week, think of the import of Jerusalem then (and now) and maybe take something from that as you enter into holy places.
Tags: jerusalem, Shadow of the Temple, temple