(Response to 2.C.2 From the Gospel of John, Chapter 4, presented by PiotrSikora)
I am struck by the distinction between worshipping God in a particular place and worshipping God in spirit and in truth. My tradition has long struggled with the fact prophesied (according to the narrative, and historically retrojected back into the text) in this text: the destruction of the Jerusalem Temple. We have made multiple Temple substitutes – synagogues, learning houses, homes, in fact all sacred space in Judaism is in some way a carryover from the Temple. At the same time, we continue to appeal to the Temple as an ongoing dimension of our religious life, praying for it in every prayer, mentioning it on every possible occasion. This text presents the way not taken by my tradition – rejecting the Temple in favor of pure spirit. While Judaism has been functioning without a Temple for nearly 2000 years, it has not taken the perspective mentioned here. The Temple for Judaism, and for me, continues to be a lack, a source of longing, whether on the physical or the spiritual plane. God’s paternal presence does not suffice, because the destroyed Temple also makes real to us the lack of Divine presence in the world. It seems to me that these two perspectives cannot be reconciled. But this itself is something worth reflecting upon: Can the perspective on Temple and Presence, expressed in this text, be made compatible with the continuing yearning of the Jewish people and of Jewish prayer for God’s home in the world?
