The true church

When the cathedral «Notre Dame» burned in Paris, not only in France was great mourning, but also throughout Europe and the rest of the world. Priceless items were destroyed by the flames. Witnesses to a 900-year story have been dissolved into smoke and ashes.

Some wonder if this is a warning sign to our society because it happened just in Holy Week? Because in Europe, churches and the "Christian heritage" are less and less appreciated and often even trampled.
What comes to mind when you think of a house of worship? Is it a cathedral, a church or chapel, an ornate hall, or a beautiful spot in nature? Jesus addressed this very question at the beginning of his ministry. Shortly before Passover, he drove the merchants out of the temple and warned them not to turn it into a marketplace. "Then the Jews answered him, 'What sign will you show us that you are authorized to do this?' Jesus answered them, 'Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.' The Jews said, 'It took forty-six years to build this temple, and you will raise it up in three days?'" (Joh 2,18-20)What was Jesus actually talking about? For the Jews, his answer was very confusing. Let's read on: "But he was speaking about the temple of his body. When he rose from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this to them, and they believed the Scripture and the word that Jesus had spoken" (verses 21-22).

Jesus' womb would be the real church. And his body was newly formed after he had been in the tomb for three days. He received a new body from God. Paul wrote that as God's children, we are part of this body. Peter wrote in his first letter that we should have stones built into this spiritual house alive.

This new house of worship is far more valuable than any magnificent building, and what's special about it is: it cannot be destroyed! God has initiated a massive "building program" that has been underway for many centuries. "So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with God’s people and members of his household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the cornerstone. In him the whole building, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. And through him you too are being built together into a dwelling place for God in the Spirit." (Eph 2,19-22)Each individual building block has been chosen by God; He prepares it so that it fits perfectly into its intended environment. Every stone has its specific task and function! Therefore, every stone in this body is very valuable and precious!
When Jesus died on the cross and was then put into the grave, the disciples began a very difficult time. How does it go from here? Has our hope been in vain? Doubt spread and disappointment, though Jesus had informed her several times about his death. And then the great relief: Jesus is alive, he is risen. Jesus shows up in his new body many times, so that no doubt could arise. The disciples had become eyewitnesses testifying to the resurrection of Jesus and preaching forgiveness and renewal through the Spirit of God. The body of Jesus was here in new form here on earth.

God's Spirit shapes individual building blocks, whom God calls, for the new spiritual house of God. And this house is still growing. And just as God loves his Son, so he loves each individual stone. "You also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. For it is written: 'See, I lay in Zion a chosen and precious cornerstone, and whoever believes in him will never be put to shame.' Now to you who believe, he is precious; but to those who do not believe, 'the stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone.'" (1. Petr 2,5-7).
Jesus renews you through his love every day, so that you fit into this new building for the glory of God. Now you only see what will become shadowy, but soon you will fully see the splendor of reality as Jesus comes in his glory and will introduce the new church to the world.

by Hannes Zaugg