Consecration Sunday - Reflection by Canon Leslie

​This Sunday is a day of special rejoicing and celebration for Liverpool Cathedral. Each year this particular Sunday is set aside to recollect the consecration of the Cathedral in 1924, commissioning it for service while still under construction. On that day, Dean Dwelly’s Rejoices resounded in this holy place for the first time:
            Alleluia! The Lord is in his holy temple.
 
This Sunday is a day of special rejoicing and celebration for Liverpool Cathedral for a second reason as well. The government’s Great Lock-Down of the nation back in March, as a prudent precaution against the uncontrolled reproduction of Covid 19, also entailed a Great Lock-Out from sacred places of private prayer and public worship. This Great Lock-Out has caused the Church to reflect on the proper place of churches and cathedrals within God’s plan for the salvation, healing, and wellbeing of creation.
 
More than 6,000 responses to my survey that set out to discover how people responded to the Great Lock-Out shows that, although there is never just one mind on such matters within the Church of England, many clergy and lay people have been longing for the day when the keys are given back, when the doors are unlocked, and when we can reclaim for God’s glory the sacred space and common ground that speaks so clearly of God’s presence among God’s people:
            Alleluia! The Lord is in his holy temple.
 
The Gospel reading selected for Consecration  Sunday this year, during the lectionary year that is following Matthew’s Gospel, is Matthew’s account of Jesus entering the temple in Jerusalem (Matthew 21: 12-16). Here in Matthew’s Gospel Jesus claims the temple as space for conversation with God:
            My house shall be called a House of Prayer.
Mark’s Gospel goes further to extend the sacred space as open common ground:
            My house shall be called a House of Prayer for all people.
 
The Great Unlocking and the recalling to mind of the consecration of Liverpool Cathedral in 1924 reaffirms the personal significance and the public significance of this majestic sacred space and common ground for all people – a place of profound and life-transforming encounters:
            Alleluia! The Lord is in his holy temple.
 
Next week the image to help us prepare for participation in the Sunday service, whether offline here in the Cathedral or online at home, is hidden treasure, when the Gospel reading returns to Matthew’s little book of parables. You can find out more about that theme here: https://www.prayerforliverpool.org/prayer-resources.html. We would really appreciate you letting us know how you are using these materials. Please send us your ideas and photos of the things you may create; email them to [email protected].
 
We are streaming our Consecration Sunday worship this morning live from our Facebook page, which you can find here: https://www.facebook.com/LiverpoolCathedral/. Please note that beginning next Sunday, we will be returning to our regular pattern of producing pre-recorded worship resources. Stay connected to our website and Facebook page for the latest information.
 
With warm Consecration Sunday wishes,
 
Canon Leslie