Episode Transcript
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This is one of the more unusual feasts on the Church's calendar.
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It doesn’t commemorate a saint, or a biblical event.
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It celebrates a building, specifically,
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the Lateran Basilica, in Rome.
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It’s the oldest of the four major basilicas in Rome,
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and as such serves as the official “home” of the pope,
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the seat of the bishop of Rome.
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I know that St. Peter’s gets all the attention but,
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it’s the Lateran that is really the “pope’s church.”
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The land to build the church was given by Emperor Constantine
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after his conversion.
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Before that, the Christians gathered in secret,
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away from the crowds,
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not wanting to draw attention to themselves,
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afraid to proclaim the message of the Good News.
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So the building of this church, the Lateran,
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completed in 324,
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symbolically proclaims the Church coming out from the shadows,
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not afraid to proclaim openly and confidently
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Christ’s reign and the Kingdom of God.
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A proclamation that would go to the ends of the world.
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A proclamation that is received anew
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in your hearing this morning.
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So, this feast is not so much about a church in Rome,
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but about the Church,
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our Church, your Church,
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and the proclamation and witness
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to the Kingdom of God
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that continues to this very day.
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We, the Church, we are the Body of Christ,
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the Temple of God, the dwelling place of the Holy Spirit.
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Your church, just like the Lateran Basilica, is special,
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not just because of its bricks and mortars
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or its architectural style;
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the building is significant because of what flows from it,
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the Body of Christ, missionary disciples,
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sent into the world,
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sent into your community
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to be Christ’s living presence in the world.
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The building of the Lateran Basilica was
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the early believers statement that
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they were prepared to share the Good News openly,
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confidently, defiantly.
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Likewise, your presence at your church this day echoes that determination
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to be a witness to our brothers and sisters
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of the love of God made real in Christ Jesus.
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The builders of the Lateran knew,
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just as much as the builders of your church knew,
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that the Church is made up of living, breathing men and women,
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each endowed with the dignity
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that comes from recognising that we are all children of God,
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created for a purpose
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which is reflected in the lives we live
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today as we leave our church
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and live the Good News.
