The house of God

I love how the Gospel of Luke ends. The very last verse says, "And [the disciples] were continually in the temple, praising and blessing God.  Amen."

After all the drama that His followers had just gone through -- the miracles, arrest, crucifixion, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus -- they boomerang back to the house of God.

Coincidentally (and not accidentally I'm sure), the opening scene of the same book also takes place in the temple, with Zechariah going in to worship God.  Then in chapter 2 a couple of God's faithful, Simeon and Anna, are found lingering in the temple, waiting, waiting, waiting for the Messiah.

So the story of Jesus is book-ended by His people waiting and worshiping in His Father's house.  

For the brief time in the middle, the Messiah comes as a man and makes His dwelling with them temporarily.  But before and after those mind-blowing years, the people have gone to the temple to wait, recover, grieve, rejoice.... and wait some more.

This year, the year when churches all over were shut down, has shown us just how much we treasure the House of God.  There is something that happens when you physically go into the building where you will gather with others to worship and hear Truth, something we have missed acutely.  I'm sure I was not the only one who cried when the doors finally opened after months of being shut and we were allowed to be in proximity of other believers and hear preaching in the same room, as opposed to on a screen.

The faithful followers thousands of years ago knew this; they longed to be in the House of the Lord as they waited, recovered, grieved, and rejoiced.... and waited some more.

Now it is us who wait.