Blaze at Notre Dame: Church’s mission goes beyond grand edifices

The April 15 fire that severely damaged the Cathedral of Notre Dame in Paris came as a shock to many all over the world. Many could only watch in horror as the blaze engulfed the Notre-Dame on Monday of Holy Week.

Apr 26, 2019

By Anil Netto
The April 15 fire that severely damaged the Cathedral of Notre Dame in Paris came as a shock to many all over the world. Many could only watch in horror as the blaze engulfed the Notre-Dame on Monday of Holy Week.

The majestic cathedral was completed in 1345 and until the severe damage by fire the magnificent edifice spanned a period of 674 years. One of the major events in Notre Dame was the crowning of Napoleon and Josephine as Emperor and Empress of France with Pope Pius VII officiating with Napoleon himself placing the crown on his own head – a rather disturbing spectacle.

Monday of Holy Week is when three incidents in the Gospels are believed to have happened: the cursing of the fig tree, the scribes questioning Jesus’ authority and Jesus’ cleansing of the Temple in Jerusalem.

If the fire at Notre Dame was traumatic for many around the world, the Temple in Jerusalem suffered two major destructive moments.

The original Solomon’s Temple in Jerusalem was build around 1000BC and was destroyed by the Babylonians in around 587BC – a period of over 400 years.

The Temple was built for the second time rather modestly around 516BC, this time by returning Jewish exiles. It was then grandiosely and extensively rebuilt and refurbished by Herod the Great in the 1st Century BC – a vanity project to boost his standing among the people and the Emperor.

Shortly after the extensive renovations were finally completely, the Romans destroyed the Temple in 70AD after a Jewish revolt was put down with much bloodshed and suffering. The historian Josephus estimated that 1.1 million people perished during the Roman siege of Jerusalem while 97,000 were taken prisoner.

In all the two temples in Jerusalem spanned almost a thousand years, much longer than Notre Dame. But the end still came.

During Holy Week, Jesus himself told us that the Temple would be destroyed but within three days it would be restored.

He was of course referring to the Resurrection, which we celebrated last week.

This would pave the way for the church, the early Christian community, to be guided in spirit and in truth, working to recreate and transform Creation.

Grand buildings may come and go throughout history, sometimes built at great cost to the ordinary people. But ultimately the faith of the church is built on the mission of Jesus Christ who built his church to proclaim the new kingdom of God.

Notre Dame may be rebuilt but serious questions surround the cost of renovation and the sources of funds from billionaire donors. France itself has to deal with how its scarce resources are to be spent on all sort of pressing social needs.

Elsewhere, many ordinary people are suffering — the latest being the victims of Easter Sunday explosions in Sri Lanka which struck three churches and three hotels killing 290 people and injuring over 500 people. The Sri Lanka government has accused an extremist group of being behind the suicide bombers responsible for the attacks.

It seems that trauma, violence and exploitation are never far from ‘civilisation’. Indeed, we are now faced with existential threats to the survival of humanity and the planet.

But the Good News is that the kingdom of God is at hand. God made the earth and found it was very good. He would scarcely want to destroy what He created. Rather, our work here on earth itself is stated in the Lord’s Prayer: thy will be done on Earth as it is in Heaven. So we are called to realise God’s vision for the kingdom on earth as it already is in Heaven. The Resurrection gives us hope that this is not only possible but it is our driving mission.

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