August 7, 2024

Post-feast of the Transfiguration. Holy Venerable-Martyr Dometius (360- 63).
Dormition Fast. Abstention from meat and foods that contain meat.
2 Corinthians 6:11-16. Mark 1:23-28.

Read 2 Corinthians 6:11-16

At our baptism, we were consecrated to the living God—that is, set aside for a special purpose. Our calling is to manifest God’s presence through our lives; in other words, to be a dedicated temple of the living God. The Temple in the Old Testament had an important meaning for God’s relationship with His people. Two points of meaning of the Temple were the assurance of God’s presence (1 Kings 8:10-13) and the place where God’s glory and love resided among His people. It is from this perspective that St. Paul speaks to us of the radical transformation that the incarnation of Christ brings about: the Temple, which was great and important, has become obsolete because of the incarnation of the Son of God. Jesus is greater than the Temple, and He extends the presence and glory of God to all those who believe in Him and love Him. St. Paul wants us to cultivate this identity as the living temples of God, to be filled with His glory and love, and to bring that into the world. It’s for this reason that St. Paul also warns us that anything that contradicts or opposes this calling cannot be part of our lives. Is there anything, or even anyone, that opposes my calling to be a living temple? If so, how can I replace that with something spiritually healthy and beneficial.