Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam (To the Greater Glory of God)

For: Monday, February 6, 2012

5th Week in Ordinary Time

Memorial: St Paul Miki and Companions, Martyrs

From: 1 Kings 8:1-7, 9-13

Transfer of the Ark of the Covenant
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[1] Then Solomon assembled the elders of Israel and all the heads of the tribes,
the leaders of the fathers' houses of the people of Israel, before King Solomon in
Jerusalem, to bring up the ark of the covenant of the LORD out of the city of Da-
vid, which is Zion. [2] And all the men of Israel assembled to King Solomon at
the feast in the month Ethanim, which is the seventh month. [3] And all the el-
ders of Israel came, and the priests took up the ark. [4] And they brought up the
ark of the LORD, the tent of meeting and all the holy vessels that were in the
tent the priests and the Levites brought them up. [5] And King Solomon and all
the congregation of Israel who had assembled before him were with him before
the ark, sacrificing so many sheep and oxen that they could not be counted or
numbered. [6] Then the priests brought the ark of the covenant of the LORD to
its place, in the inner sanctuary of the house, in the most holy place, underneath
the wings of the cherubim. [7] For the cherubim spread out their wings over the
place of the ark, so that the cherubim made a covering above the ark and its
poles. [9] There was nothing in the ark except the two tables of stone which Mo-
ses put there at Horeb, where the LORD made a covenant with the people of Is-
rael, when they came out of the land of Egypt. [10] And when the priests came
out of the holy place, a cloud filled the house of the LORD, [11] so that the
priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud; for the glory of the
LORD filled the house of the LORD.

[12] Then Solomon said, "The LORD has set the sun in the heavens, but has
said that he would dwell in thick darkness. [13] I have built thee an exalted
house, a place for thee to dwell in for ever."

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Commentary:

8:1-9:9. Once the temple was built and furnished, the key thing remained to be
fulfilled--that God should accept it as his dwelling-place. This section brings us
to the most important passage in the books of the Kings. This temple dedicated
by Solomon now becomes the place of the presence of God--the same presence
as Moses and the people enjoyed in the wilderness (Ex 25:8-9). Jesus himself
recognizes the temple of Jerusalem as the house of God (cf. Mt 21:13 and par.;
Jn 2:16) and in fact it is there that he will manifest himself to men. So, it is not
surprising that the early Christian writers should see Solomon as a figure of
Christ: "The temple that Solomon built for the Lord was a type and figure of the
future Church, the body of the Lord as it is described in the Gospel: "Destroy
this temple, and in three days I will raise it up". In the same way as Solomon
built that temple, the true Solomon, our Lord Jesus Christ, the true peacemaker,
built a temple. The name Solomon means 'Peacemaker' and Jesus Christ is the
true peacemaker, of whom the Apostle said: "He is our peace. He has formed
the two peoples into one body". He is the true peacemaker who unites in his per-
son, being himself the cornerstone, the two walls which run from opposite sides
--the believers from among the circumcised people and the believers from among
the uncircumcised Gentiles. From these two peoples, he, the cornerstone, has
raised up one Church, and thus he is the true peacemaker. Christ is the true So-
lomon, and the other Solomon, the son of David, born of Bethsabee, and a king
of Israel, was a figure of the King Peacemaker (to come)" (St Augustine, "Enar-
rationes In Psalmos", 126, 2).

8:1-13. The sacred writer wants to stress the solemnity and reverence that
marked the transfer of the ark to the temple. Once the ark was positioned in the
inner sanctuary, the poles (which according to Exodus 25:15 had to remain in
the rings) could be seen from outside that sanctuary, to confirm that the ark was
indeed inside. The statement that the ark contained only the tables of the Law
is designed to show that this is in line with what Moses did according to Exodus
25:21 and to emphasize the Law given to Israel; there are other traditions recor-
ded in the Letter to the Hebrews (cf. Heb 9:4) which say that the ark also con-
tained a small piece of manna (cf. Ex 16:33) and the rod of Aaron (cf. Num 17:
25).

The Septuagint Greek places the words of Solomon in v. 12b (along with v. 13)
in v. 53, and gives the source as "the Book of Song". According to v. 12 (RSV)
Solomon is acknowledging God to be both in the light of the sun and in the sha-
dow of the cloud. See the RSV note z. "These two images occur together in the
manifestations of the Holy Spirit. In the theophanies of the Old Testament, the
cloud, now obscure, now luminous, reveals the living and saving God, while vei-
ling the transcendence of his glory--with Moses on Mount Sinai (cf. Ex 24:15-18),
at the tent of meeting (cf. Ex 33:9-10) and during the wandering in the desert (cf.
Ex 40:36-38; 1 Cor 10:1-2) and with Solomon at the dedication of the Temple (cf.
1 King 8:10-12). In the Holy Spirit, Christ fulfills these figures. The Spirit comes
upon the Virgin Mary and 'overshadows' her, so that she might conceive and give
birth to Jesus (Lk 1:35). On the mountain of Transfiguration, the Spirit in the 'cloud
came and overshadowed' Jesus, Moses and Elijah, Peter, James and John, and
'a voice came out of the cloud, saying, "This is my Son, my Chosen; listen to
him!" (Lk 9:34-35). Finally, the cloud took Jesus out of the sight of the disciples
on the day of his Ascension, and will reveal him as Son of Man in glory on the
day of his final coming (cf. Lk 21:27)" ("Catechism of the Catholic Church", 697).

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Source: "The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries".  Biblical text from the
Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries by members of
the Faculty of Theology, University of Navarre, Spain.

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