In
the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Built on the Rock, the Church shall stand
Even when steeples are falling.
Crumbled have spires in ev'ry land;
Bells are still chiming and calling,
Calling the young and old to rest,
But above all the souls distressed,
Longing for rest everlasting (LSB 645.1).
So go the words of an old Norwegian hymn which calls to remembrance
the fact that the holy Church of Christ shall stand in every land, no
matter the risings and fallings of nations and peoples. The call of
the Church rings out in every time and place.
In like manner, the Temple of old
called the faithful of Israel from every time and place to its
courts, that they might offer the sacrifices prescribed by the Law of
Moses for the forgiveness of their sins and in thanksgiving for their
many blessings. The Temple was a glorious place, engineered to stir
up feelings of reverence and wonder at the great and awesome
proceedings that took place within, where God deigned to meet with
men. No expense was spared in the building of the Temple, even in the
rebuild in which Jesus and His disciples worshipped. The teachers of
the Law reminded Him, “It has taken forty-six years to
build this temple.”
