{"id":7714,"date":"2026-10-01T08:00:06","date_gmt":"2026-10-01T00:00:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.jeffangiegoh.com\/?p=7714"},"modified":"2026-10-01T06:58:55","modified_gmt":"2026-09-30T22:58:55","slug":"364-on-church-buildings-and-christian-mission","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.jeffangiegoh.com\/?p=7714","title":{"rendered":"364. On Church Buildings and Christian Mission"},"content":{"rendered":"

16\u00a0<\/sup>Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go.\u00a017\u00a0<\/sup>When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted.\u00a018\u00a0<\/sup>Then Jesus came to them and said,\u00a0\u201cAll authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.\u00a019\u00a0<\/sup>Therefore go and make disciples of all nations,\u00a0baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,\u00a020\u00a0<\/sup>and teaching\u00a0them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you\u00a0always, to the very end of the age.<\/span>\u201d [Matthew 28:16-20<\/span>, NRSV<\/em>]<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

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[L] Main fa\u00e7ade of Archbasilica of Saint John Lateran, Rome. [R] St Joseph\u2019s Cathedral, Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Catholic Church of Dali Ancient Town, Yunnan Province, China.<\/span><\/p>\n

Created by\u00a0Pope Pius XI<\/a>\u00a0in 1926 as the day of prayer for missions, World Mission Sunday<\/strong>\u00a0is celebrated on the penultimate Sunday of October every year. It is a day set aside for the\u00a0Catholic Church<\/a>\u00a0throughout the world to publicly renew its commitment to the\u00a0missionary movements<\/a>, coordinated by the\u00a0Pontifical Mission Societies<\/a>, who are also known as\u00a0Missio<\/em>. They remind us of Peter and John who, in the early days of the Christian movement defiantly told the Jewish religious rulers, elders and scribes, \u201cWe cannot but speak about what we have seen and heard<\/em><\/strong>\u201d (Acts 4:20<\/a>). These early Christian leaders were driven by the conviction that \u201cthere is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved<\/em><\/strong>\u201d (Acts 4:12). These early Christians were driven by the conviction, born initially of the experience of personal encounter with Jesus of Nazareth. This was strengthened by the abiding and revelatory presence of the Holy Spirit since Pentecost, that \u201cthere is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved<\/em><\/strong>\u201d (Acts 4:12). This conviction was evident at the start of the Christian movement. <\/span><\/p>\n

Church buildings from time immemorial are thus meant to embody a missionary spirit anchored in this conviction. They celebrate a profound truth, namely, that God chooses to dwell among His people in all cultures. To all cultures, churches announce that the kingdom of God is close at hand, calling for repentance and for conversion of hearts and minds. We have recently been detained in reflection among friends on three representative church buildings.<\/span><\/p>\n

First, is the cathedral of the Bishop of Rome and the \u201cmother and head of all churches\u201d, the St John Lateran Basilica. It is a basilica of European architecture, of the period around mid-18th<\/sup> century. Featuring a blend of Baroque and Neoclassical design and a typical iconic Neoclassical fa\u00e7ade, it\u00a0reminds us that far from being dead structures of cold stones, church buildings ought always lead us from physical temple to the human heart, from structure to spirit. Worship, particularly communal worship, must above all be about communion<\/em>. Attendance at a worship service in a church building must never reduce us to mere visitors to the temple, for we ourselves are the temples of God and God\u2019s Spirit dwells in us (1 Cor 3:9, 16). Stones and marbles do not welcome the divine; eager hearts do.<\/span><\/p>\n

The second building is our very own Cathedral of St Joseph\u2019s in Kuching, Malaysia. Built in 1969, barely four years after the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965), it is stunning to say the least: its\u00a0 beauty and architecture reflect the defining essence, theologically speaking, of what it means to be Church. Timeless and universal, it is the most \u201cproper\u201d church building one can theologically imagine — magnificent while free from the shackles of colonialist past and an untrammeled desire to flaunt in external exhibition.<\/span><\/p>\n