Jesus and Jenga: The Irreplaceable Necessity of Service

A Reflection on the Second Reading for Sunday, November 9th, 2025:
The Dedication of the Lateran Basilica 

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1 Corinthians
3.9b-11, 16-17
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​Brothers and sisters, you are God’s building. According to the grace of God given to me, like a skilled master builder I laid a foundation, and someone else is building on it. Each builder must choose with care how to build on it.

For no one can lay any foundation other than the one that has been laid; that foundation is Jesus Christ.

Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you? If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy that person. For God’s temple is holy, and you are that temple.

Pause. Pray. Reflect.

​We are God’s builders; we are God’s temple; He dwells within us. A precious gift – a sacred responsibility.

My work-life balance has been demanding these past months, causing me to pray on my capacity. And my faith remains unwavering. I love Jesus and know God has a beautiful plan for me. This morning, two stepping stones on that journey, gently revealed, were shining with an opalescent clarity – it is rare for me to see His plan to be so clearly visible.

I currently pour myself into serving my church, making my "Yes" to Jesus in uppercase and bold font, from my heart. Despite this, the recent workload left me feeling delicately stretched too thin. I was late with my Ora reflection, having let the due date completely slip my mind, and my guilt was palpable.

My strength to keep pace had dissolved. A major shift in my office duties this week completely consumed the mental space and energy I reserved for spiritual retreat and quiet discernment of the Word. The irony was acute: I was simultaneously preparing a 20-minute talk on "commitment to service" for an assembly in our parish and, in doing so, I was searching for scripture to reinforce that very commitment.

Driven by a need for quiet understanding, I again delved into Paul’s letter to the people of Corinth for my reflection. I searched for examples of modern ways we might betray this Scripture, receiving predictable answers like gossip and greed, but nothing touched the heart of my struggle. I wanted a heartfelt example of disrespecting the scripture, needing to see my own brokenness in it.
I landed on one simple, piercing example: The silent withdrawal. The Holy Spirit used those three words to place my feet firmly onto His path.

Unbeknownst to me, the Ora team, and the assembly planners, this Ora reflection and my upcoming talk addressed the very same commitment.

This Scripture is, at its core, the foundation for my upcoming talk: a call for us to be present, sign up, and commit to lovingly building His Church. Our God-given gifts (charisms) are for His service. We participate in His community to honour all that He has poured into us and all that He is within us.

If I withhold my service, if I do not contribute the unique spiritual gift I was meant to make, it is a permanent loss to the body. I am a brick in God's metaphorical building, and if my brick is missing no one can ever truly fill that space. The visual is stark: Like in a game of Jenga, if enough of us quietly "withdraw" our presence over time, the entire structure is gently but surely destabilized.
Jesus, through His ultimate sacrifice, made us necessary in the entire sacred tower built upon the foundation of Christ. Showing up, serving, and honouring our gifts is simply where we belong. To claim we are too busy, or to offer our service only "as needed," feels like a profound misunderstanding of the depth of His commitment to us. While His sacrifice was infinite, we find profound, genuine joy in dedicating even a small portion of our time in return for His enduring love.




​Jacinda Whebby

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