Just this past week the people of Syria breathed freedom again after more than seventy years of oppression. Hopefully they can build on it. And there was another moment of hope to raise our spirits last week. The first stone was laid for the building of the Cathedral of Notre Dame (Our Lady) in Paris in 1163, that is 861 years ago. The huge cathedral that rose on that island in the River Seine which runs through Paris, became the symbolic heart of the nation.
And today, when many French people are paying little attention to the liturgical practice of their faith, Notre Dame remains a sign of pride and cultural identity such that when it almost burned down five years ago, it was like a death in the family. People wept in unbelief.
The President of the Republic promised it would be rebuilt in five years and so it was. It was revealed to us in renewed splendour last week such as it must have been eight hundred years ago, before the candle wax and smoke of centuries cased it in grime.
Watching the re-opening, one could not but wonder! First at the joy of rebirth, this time enhanced by modern lighting from floor to distant ceiling. Then by the organ peeling out in an abandonment of triumph. But then also, by the coming together, for once, of people of varied views. For the active Christians of France it was a thrill they will never forget. For the retired Christians it was a moment awe, they will surely ponder. And even for the politicians, who perhaps looked for a little leverage from the occasion, it must have made their rivalries seem trivial.
But in the Christian tradition, cathedrals only have the role of a memorial. Ultimately, they are not where God dwells. However beautiful, they cannot compare with the human person, the true residence of our God. ‘He came to dwell among us’, says St John, and it is the hearts and lives of his people that the Lord has made his home. This is why, the Church shouts, ‘Gaudete!’ ‘Rejoice!’ ‘Your servitude is at an end.’ The long imprisoned in Syria have stepped out into the sunlight, blinded by it for a moment, yet hopefully ready to begin a new life. In all sorts of ways, this is also our joy.
15 December 2024 Advent 3C Zeph 3:14-18 Phil 4:4-7 Lk 3:10-18
Post published in: Faith