David’s desire to build a house like his own for God leads one to think that he wanted a God after his own image and likeness. Do I also sometimes create a God in my own image and likeness? How can Lent help me become more aware of when I do this?
Audio reflection
1 A Song of Ascents. Of Solomon. If the Lord does not build the house, in vain its builders have labored on it. If the Lord does not guard the city, in vain has the guard kept watch.
2 In vain, you rise up early and sit down late, eating the bread of sorrows; for he gives sleep to his beloved.
3 Behold the heritage of the Lord is children, a reward the fruit of the womb.
4 Like arrows in the hand of a warrior are the children of youth.
5 Happy is the man who has filled his quiver with them, they shall not be ashamed for they speak to enemies at the gate.(The translation is an amended version of the NRSV, brought closer to the Hebrew by the author)
Reflection
“Unless the Lord builds the house!” One day, King David decided that he had to build the Lord a house. This came after he had built himself a sumptuous royal palace (cf. 2Samuel 7). David’s magnificent residence was fit for a king. But David’s God had dwelt in a tent in the midst of the people, since the time that the people had come out of Egypt. David’s desire to build a house like his own for God leads one to think that he wanted a God after his own image and likeness. Just as he felt he deserved the splendor of an earthly palace, so he felt that his God, imagined in his own image and likeness, needed one too.
However, the futility of David’s thoughts was revealed when God sent the prophet Nathan to him, telling him: “Are you the one to build me a house to live in? I have not lived in a house since the day I brought up the people of Israel from Egypt to this day, but I have been moving about in a tent and a tabernacle. (…) Moreover, the Lord declares to you that the Lord will make you a house. When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your ancestors, I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come forth from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever.” (2Samuel 7:5-13).
Psalm 127 is one of two psalms attributed to Solomon, the son of David. Was he the one God promised to David, the one who would a build a house for God’s name?
Was the Temple that Solomon built that house. What is clear is that Solomon’s throne was not established forever. In fact, Solomon built a house, a great Temple for the Lord. However, Solomon, described as wiser than all men at the beginning of his reign, is described as a great sinner at the end of this reign. He indeed labored in vain. The futility of his labors, the many horses and wives, and the immensity of his wealth all contradicted the laws of a king who should rely only on God. The laws of the king (Deuteronomy 17) warned not to amass military might in horses, diplomatic prowess in royal marriages or financial power in great wealth. Rather, he should rest in the Lord, studying God’s Word day and night. As he sits on a throne like all kings, the Word of God should sit on him as he works to make it flesh and blood in his life, serving as an example for the people he rules.
The Son of David who would come was the one who made the Word flesh. His aim was not to build a house of cedar and gold but rather a house made up of a community of believers, a Temple of the Spirit of God. This house is held together by the cornerstone. “The stone that the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone. This is the Lord’s doing; it is marvelous in our eyes. This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it (Psalm 118:22-24). During Lent, we want to renovate this house, the Temple we constitute as the Body of Christ.
Do I also sometimes create a God in my own image and likeness? How can Lent help me become more aware of when I do this? How can Lent help me to allow myself to be conformed more and more to God’s image?
How can Lent help me rid myself of my tendency to seek my own strength, wealth and wisdom? How can it help me rely more and more on God?
How can I renovate the Temple that is my body so that the Spirit can dwell in me? How can I help renovate my community, my church, so that it can be the place of the Spirit’s dwelling?
