Who, what or where is your temple? Do you still keep your cell phone on, intending to check on it even when you’re inside the church? - Daily Reflections February 2,2015

WHERE IS YOUR TEMPLE?

People of Jesus’ time consider the temple as the center of their lives. Everything significant in their lives were “celebrated” in the temple. The scene in today’s Gospel depicts Joseph and Mary bringing to the temple the infant Jesus. As law-abiding Jews, Mary had to be brought to the temple as a form of purification for women who had just given birth. The firstborn male that opens the womb must also be brought to the temple as a gesture of thanksgiving, celebration and consecration to God.

       I remember a friend who is a true-blue netizen (a citizen of the Internet). Her regular posts include pictures of her outfits, especially if it’s a new dress, with hashtag OOTD (outfit of the day). Every new thing she buys — a book, gadget, tool — is posted on Facebook. I sent her a private message asking why she does it and she told me it’s a sort of “good luck” for the item she bought, a debut for the world to see.

       When I was younger, we were taught that when one buys new clothes, one always wears it first in Church as a thanksgiving to God (unless of course you bought a swimsuit), before you wear it somewhere else. It is a declaration of gratitude — that the new item is providence.

       But more than gratitude, it is also a form of consecration — that this new item will be used in a way that honors God, in a way that pleases God, in a way that will serve to further God’s purpose. That was how we sought good luck. That was how we debuted our newly bought items. Now we bring it first to the social media. How things have changed!

       I once received a text message that said, “Modern believers still struggle with the worship of idols… ours just have screens.” The feast of the Presentation of the Lord is not only a peek at an old custom. It is a reminder that the people of old “debut” to the temple everything they hold dear in their hearts because the temple is where God is. We moderns do it differently now. And that shows where our “temple” really is. Fr. Joel Jason

REFLECTION QUESTION: Who, what or where is your temple? Do you still keep your cell phone on, intending to check on it even when  you’re inside the church?

Banish in me, Lord, anything and everything that will compete with Your proper place in my heart. Amen.