Sunday, December 16, 2007

Jn 4, 24-26 We must worship God in Spirit and truth

(Jn 4, 24-26) We must worship God in Spirit and truth
[24] God is Spirit, and those who worship him must worship in Spirit and truth." [25] The woman said to him, "I know that the Messiah is coming, the one called the Anointed; when he comes, he will tell us everything." [26] Jesus said to her, "I am he, the one who is speaking with you."
(CCC 1179) The worship "in Spirit and in truth" (Jn 4:24) of the New Covenant is not tied exclusively to any one place. The whole earth is sacred and entrusted to the children of men. What matters above all is that, when the faithful assemble in the same place, they are the "living stones," gathered to be "built into a spiritual house" (1 Pet 2:4-5). For the Body of the risen Christ is the spiritual temple from which the source of living water springs forth: incorporated into Christ by the Holy Spirit, "we are the temple of the living God" (2 Cor 6:16). (CCC 439) Many Jews and even certain Gentiles who shared their hope recognized in Jesus the fundamental attributes of the messianic "Son of David", promised by God to Israel (Cf. Mt 2:2; 9:27; 12:23; 15:22; 20:30; 21:9.15). Jesus accepted his rightful title of Messiah, though with some reserve because it was understood by some of his contemporaries in too human a sense, as essentially political (Cf. Jn 4:25-26; 6:15; 11:27; Mt 22:41-46; Lk 24:21).

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