Building Up God's House

This is what the LORD then said to Moses: "Tell the Israelites to take up a collection for me. From every man you shall accept the contribution that his heart prompts him to give me. These are the contributions you shall accept from them: gold, silver and bronze; violet, purple and scarlet yarn; fine linen and goat hair; rams' skins dyed red, and tahash skins; acacia wood; oil for the light; spices for the anointing oil and for the fragrant incense; onyx stones and other gems for mounting on the ephod and the breastpiece. They shall make a sanctuary for me, that I may dwell in their midst." (Exodus 25:1-8)

I have sometimes heard others wonder aloud why we give our money to build big, fancy churches rather than putting that money to better use such as a charity for orphaned children or AIDS victims. Wouldn't Jesus want us to take care of His children instead of building huge cathedrals?

Certainly we are called to take care of those less fortunate then ourselves, and we should give a portion of our wealth (be it money, time or talent) to those in need. But as Catholics, we also should give a portion of our wealth to building the house of God much as God commanded Moses to do in Exodus 25.

In this chapter we read about God giving specific instructions on how the Jewish people are to construct the ark which will hold the rod, manna, and commandments as well as how to construct what would become the holy of holies where God would reside among His people.

As Catholics, we believe that Christ is present in a unique way when we celebrate the Eucharist. At the moment of the consecration, Jesus is present in body, blood, soul and divinity and remains so as long as the consecrated host and wine turned blood are in our midst. The tabernacle in a Catholic church becomes for us a holy of holies since God is truly residing with us.

For those who are not Catholic (or do not truly believe that Christ is uniquely present in the Eucharist) I can understand why there might be doubt about putting large sums of money into a building. After all, is a gymnasium or a classroom not sufficient for a service which amounts to a bible study given by a wise pastor or minister? In such scenarios I would be inclined to agree that extravagant buildings with rich tapestries, colorful murals and precious metallic accoutrement are simply means of showing off one's wealth.

But if in fact God is truly present in that place, then shouldn't we offer Him the very best that we can? A Catholic Church IS the House of God, and to do anything less than to give him our first fruits would be to disrespect His sovereignty and power.

In Matthew 26:6-11 we see Jesus affirming the actions of a woman who pours costly perfumed oil on Him. His disciples argued that the oil could have been sold to provide for the poor, but Jesus rebukes them stating that the poor will always be there, but He will not always be there. Should we assume then that Jesus covets the oil or claims to be more important than the lowly poor? Surely not. Instead our Lord is affirming the command the Father gave to the Israelites by confirming that they should offer their best for their Messiah.

We as Catholic Christians are called to do nothing less.