I was horrified by the burning of the Notre Dame Cathedral in 2019. I thought of the beauty of this Cathedral and the years of work that went into it to be a place of prayer and praise to God, the creator of the beauty of the earth.
I never visited Notre Dame but I did visit the Cathedral in Cologne Germany. When I was in graduate school, one of my professors told us of the bombing of Germany in World War II. He was a navigator in the Air Force and he said how it was “off limits” to bomb the Cathedral in Cologne. It had to be saved regardless of the bombing of the surrounding area. It was his job to see that it was not bombed.
The Cologne Cathedral is a grand and beautiful structure that took generations of artists to construct. Its beauty, its spiritual ambiance and the art is such that it cannot be ignored. It speaks to the Glory of God. People visiting, regardless of religious backgrounds, speak in quiet tones and certainly show respect of what it represents. In a way, it is the human response to “hollowed be they name.” I am sure Notre Dame brought forth the same responses.
Some people say that the money for the initial building and restoration of Notre Dame should have been given to the poor. I can’t help but think of Jesus’ response to Judas when Mary was anointing him with costly oil. Judas wanted the money for the oil to be given to the poor. Jesus’ response was that Mary has known the Spirit of God and she is anointing the Savior of humankind. She is glorifying God!
These great Cathedrals were built and protected by individuals who may have known the Spirit of God in their life and felt the need to anoint the Savior of humankind. These buildings have “soul” for all to know and feel this Spirit. It is God’s voice speaking to all of us through the generations of people glorifying the God of creation and salvation.
Today Note Dame is restored, the Cologne Cathedral survived a terrible war. Just as Jesus allows us to reconstruct our lives, to know God’s glory and to feel the power of resurrection. It is difficult to rebuild something that has been horrifically damaged, but out of the ashes of a fire Notre Dame speaks to all. Notre Dame’s Resurrection has shown us the truth. Give glory to God with our lives and as a result of our witness we arise like the Phoenix from the ashes.
In the Glory of God there is resurrection!