David longed to build a temple to symbolize the dwelling place of God with God's people. Because David was a warrior the Lord prevented him from accomplishing his dream. Later David's son Solomon built the great temple in Jerusalem along with an extravagant palace for the king. However, the cost was so high, the debt so great that from the time the temple was built there was no peace in the kingdom. Eventually after Solomon's death the kingdom divided and never again would it achieve such greatness.
In Moses' time the presence of God was symbolized in the tent that was erected around the Ark of the Covenant. A tent I think is a more fitting symbol of God's presence because you can take it down and move it where ever you are going. It seems, however, that religious folks love their buildings. We pour vast amounts of money into construction, upkeep and repair. Often great growth occurs in a church when they unite around a new building project, but also great conflict can arise over competing visions of exactly what this building should look like.
Where does God dwell today? I think God encouraged the building of tabernacles and temples in the ancient world because that was how folks understood the presence of God among them at that time. It was really an acquiescence to human frailty. In Ephesians 2:14-22 Paul writes about how when the dividing walls between people are broken down God dwells in the hearts of his people. We carry God's spirit with us wherever we go.
I have felt the presence of God in the lovely architecture of grand cathedrals and in the simple white washed walls of an early 19th century meetinghouse. Each can be a tool that allows us to focus on the reality beyond the four walls. However, I've also experienced God presence even more deeply when I put a bed sheet over the hood of a HUUM-V in Afghanistan and lead communion for troops who hadn't seen a chaplain in a long time and needed the comfort of the sacrament and the assurance of God's grace. I've experienced God's presence in hospital rooms at the birth of children, in the beauty of a sunset on the beach or the vast view from a tall mountain peak. God is present with us when we have the sensitivity of faith to see beyond this reality to the reality that is beyond.
What then is the place of our church buildings -- are they holy ground? In a sense I think they are very much like our communion ware -- vessels which can be used to experience the holy but not holy in and of themselves. What makes a place holy is not the sign on the door or the architecture but the faith of the people who gather there in love and share God's grace with those around them.
Too often today we have an unhealthy view of our Church buildings. We struggle to maintain them to keep alive memories of the past. But they are only truly holy places if they become tools in the present to help people come into loving relationship with God, learn to love others, and empower folks to be a blessing as they have been blessed. What makes a building sacred is not its past -- but how useful it is as a tool to make God's presence felt in the here and now. It need not be large or fancy, it need not have the latest equipment. Perhaps what makes a place holy, is really the spirit of God in the hearts of those who gather there.
God dwells with his people not in a building. Where two are three are gathered, God is in the midst of them -- whether it be a dusty village around a HUUM-V, a beautiful sea side, or a large cathedral. The important thing is not the building, but being open to how God might use the setting, the gathering of friends, and a touch of His grace to make God's presence more vivid in our lives. The Church would be stronger if we found God's spirit more in the gathering of faithful friends and in a heart turned to God, and relied less on ancient buildings and past memories.
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