I just recently did a ten day walk to Santiago de Compostela in Spain. My daughter and I walked the 190 kilometers from our front door to the great Cathedral made in honor of Saint James the Apostle. Tradition has it that two of James’ disciples brought his body to Spain after he had been killed by Herod in Jerusalem during one of the early persecutions of the new Christian sect.
Supposedly Saint James’ tomb had been lost, but later, it was found by a man who saw stars (meteors?) falling from heaven onto a field. The name “Santiago” means “Saint James” and “Compostela” means “field of stars.” The man informed the Bishop and an expedition was made to search the field. They discovered the old remains of three people. Somehow, the Bishop realized the bones were none other than Santiago and his two disciples. The King of Northern Spain also put his signature to the project and the idea to build a cathedral was soon in the making. Santiago de Compostela soon became a place of pilgrimage and thousands travelled to her doors seeking forgiveness of sins, healing and other answers to prayer.
My daughter and I had a beautiful ten days of walking through forests and fields, along rivers, through quaint villages on our way to Santiago. The beautiful scenery lifted our hearts and minds to the Lord in praise and thanksgiving for the wonderful world He has given us. However, on our arrival to Santiago the spirit changed as we entered the city. Now we were approached by pretty young woman inviting us to shop or eat in their local. The streets were packed with busy shoppers. The restaurants were full. Beggars were on every street corner, even arguing over who could beg at the entrance to the great Cathedral. I was reminded of the Book of Revelation and the “filthy city Babylon.”
When we saw it, the great Cathedral towered over the other buildings. Was this building the climax of our journey? As I entered, the scriptures came flooding into my mind. Stephen the first Christian martyr cried out, “Howbeit the Most High dwells not in temples made with hands; Heaven is my throne, and earth is my footstool: what house will ye build me? Have not my hand made all these things?”[1]This proclamation so infuriated the Temple worshipping, rule keeping, attendance minded Jews who refused to obey the word of the Lord, that they straightway stoned Stephen to death, as the future Apostle Paul –Saul, looked on with approval.
Later Paul himself while witnessing near the famous Greek temples recalled Stephen’s words and said something similar, “God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth, dwells not in temples made with hands; neither is worshipped with men’s hands, as though he needed anything, seeing he gives to all life, and breath, and all things; and has made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth,…; that they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after him, and find him, though he be not far from every one of us: for in him we live, and move, and have our being.”[2]
Jesus himself was not impressed with the temple buildings in Jerusalem. Reading from the New Testament we find the following: “And as Jesus went out, and departed from the temple: and his disciples came to him for to show him the buildings of the temple. And Jesus said unto them, See ye not all these things? Verily I say unto you, There shall not be left here one stone upon another that shall not be thrown down.”[3] Of course Jesus knew the Romans would come and destroy the temple in the soon future. But even in the Old Testament we find God’s disgust with his people over their temple worship. In Hosea we read, “For Israel has forgotten his Maker, and builds temples.”[4]
In Jeremiah we again see how the people trust in their building and temple attendance rather than in their obedience to God’s word. “The word of that came to Jeremiah from the Lord, saying, Stand in the gate of the Lord’s house, and proclaim there this word and say;…Trust ye not in lying words, saying, The temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord, The temple of the Lord, are these. …Behold, ye trust in lying words that cannot profit. Will ye steal, murder, and commit adultery, and swear falsely, and burn incense unto Baal, and walk after other gods whom ye know not; and come and stand before me in this house, and say, We are delivered to do all these abominations?...And now, because ye have done all these works, says the Lord, and I spake unto you, rising up early and speaking, but ye heard not; and I called you, but ye answered not; therefore will I do unto this house, which is called by my name, wherein ye trust, and unto the place which I gave to you and to your fathers,… And I will cast you out of my sight, as I have cast out all your brethren,… Therefore pray not for this people, neither lift up cry nor prayer for them, neither make intercession to me: for I will not hear thee.”[5]
Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon would come and destroy Jerusalem and the temple because of Judah’s disobedience to the word of the Lord. The people would not hearken to the voice of the Lord through his prophets. They thought their temple worship and church attendance would save them. But in the end they suffered the ultimate penalty for their rebellion against God.
Jesus in the New Testament when talking to the woman at the well made a startling comment showing that God was not interested in temple worship. “Jesus said unto her, Woman, believe me, the hour comes, when ye shall neither in this mountain (where the Samarians had their temple), nor yet at Jerusalem (where the Jews had their temple), worship the Father. …But the hour comes, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeks such to worship him. God is a spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.”[6] God wants our lives to be in loving obedience to him. He wants our thoughts and actions to be guided by his loving spirit. He wants us to love him, not just with words, but in deed and in truth,[7] with all our heart, with all soul, and with all our mind.[8]
But church buildings and temples are big business. The people are persuaded that they show their dedication to God by their buildings to his name. They build massive edifications that at times cost generations to complete. Their up keep is immense. But today many lay empty. In England we find them sold for discotheques, warehouses, homes, shop or museums. They may at one time have been a witness of man’s belief in God, but today in some countries they are a witness to man’s unbelief. So much money invested in those building which could have been spent in helping the poor, in training good Christian teachers and missionaries, in broadcasting the Gospel on radio, television, in music, movies and the printed page for old and young alike, all in helping mankind to worship God in spirit and in truth.
Man and his building, he prides himself in the works of his own hands rather than in obeying God and giving to the poor and living humbly. When I see the great building built by some Christian denomination it saddens me, knowing that money could have been used in a more fruitful way. But the false shepherds glory in their buildings as if they will last forever and as if they are laying up treasures in heaven by building them. Lord, deliver us from the worship of buildings and the religions that are built around them, whatever they may be. The greatest travesty is that the religion gets built around church or temple attendance and not on obedience to God and his word.
Today’s modern worship has its own building for today’s modern day gods: football stadiums and shopping malls are some of the new temples of worship where the devout go to worship their gods and offer their sacrifices, the money they have worked so hard to earn. These are the new temples of Mammon to the gods of materialism and the worship of man.
Where and how are you worshipping? Do you feel satisfied that God is with you because of your faithful church attendance and keeping of religious rules, but have not the love of God within you to love your wife, child, son-in-law, neighbor or workmate? Are you worshipping God in spirit and in truth by the way you live your life in accordance to his law of love, to do unto others as you would have them do unto you, if you were in the same given situation? Is love the mandate by which you govern and shepherd those in your sphere of influence? If not, call upon Jesus. He has promised to forgive you and to fill you with his spirit to make you capable of even loving the unlovable. Call upon him today. He’s only a call away. You won’t be disappointed.
[1] Acts 7:48-50
[2] Acts 17: 24-28
[3] Matthew 24:1.2
[4] Hosea 8:14
[5] Jeremiah 7:1-16
[6] John 4:21-24
[7] 1John 3:18
[8] Matthew 22:37
The James whose shrine is at Santiago de Compostela, in north-west Spain, was the brother of John (possibly the Evangelist). The Gospels (Matthew 4, 21-22; Mark 1, 19-20; Luke 5, 10-11) record that they were fishermen, the sons of Zebedee, partners with Simon Peter, and called by Jesus from mending their nets beside the sea of Galilee at the beginning of his ministry. The Gospel lists of the Twelve (Matthew 10, 2-4; Mark 3, 14-19; Luke 6, 13-16) all include James and John among the first four, and from one of them (Mark 3,17) we learn that Jesus nicknamed them 'the sons of thunder' - perhaps justified by the story (Luke 9, 51-56) that they once wished to call down fire from heaven to destroy a village which had refused them hospitality.
