In the ancient world, a world
marked by architectural wonders none could rival the majesty of the temple built in Jerusalem. The
temple built by Herod was awe inspiring. It was cultural and religious
centerpiece of Jerusalem. But more than that; it was a Holy Place. It was a Holy place because God dwelt there.
God dwelt in the inner sanctum, into which a priest could enter only once a
year, on Yom Kappur, to offer a special sacrifice for the collective sins of
the community. Yes, the temple was a Holy place, and that temple was held in
very high esteem by the Jewish community. But as important as that temple was;
the temple was not God, and the
temple did not contain God, like some
kind of a box.
St Stephen,
the first Christian Martyr, stated this boldly, when he witnessed before the
Sanhedrin, who would pronounce a death sentence upon him. He said: “The most
high does not dwell in houses made with human hands.” This statement drew anger and outrage from men who had
developed an idolatrous attachment to the temple, and this statement helped
bring a death sentence down upon Stephen. The temple was a human construct in
which God had chosen to dwell. And as
a human construct it was not immune from destruction. In today’s Gospel reading
Jesus prophesizes the destruction of the temple, and this is precisely what
happened. In 70 AD, the Romans destroyed the temple, raised it to the ground.
What remains of it, is what is now referred to as the West Wall, or wailing
wall. The remnant stands, and is important to the Jewish community. But it is
not what it was, and does not hold the place of importance to the life of the
community that the fully functioning temple did two thousand years ago.
Who
would have thought, two thousand years ago, that this architectural masterpiece
could ever be destroyed? How many listening to Jesus took his prediction
seriously?
But
Jesus said what he meant and he meant what he said. This was going to happen. And just as he predicted the destruction
of the temple, he predicted catastrophies and disasters the likes of which the
world has never seen. All of this
is to take place before Jesus Christ returns to earth to establish his kingdom
for all eternity.
The
followers of Jesus naturally wanted to know when this will all take place, when
the end will arrive. He did not give them a date, but instead described the sequence of events that will follow.
There will be false teachers, whose aim it is to lead the flock astray. There
will be wars, rumours of wars, nation will rise against nation. There will be
earthquakes and famines and plagues. Jesus made it clear that the end will not
follow immediately, but history must unfold in its cataclysmic sequence.
As
we read this text the natural question which comes to mind is: When is this going to occur? When is this
prophecy going to unfold?
Texts
like this are certainly open to a number of interpretations. But it is very very very, difficult to argue that
this text does not encompass events which have and are currently unfolding.
“Nation will rise against Nation, and Kingdom against Kingdom”. We hardly even
need to point out the historical validity of this prophecy. From the time Jesus
first spoke these words until now, millions and millions, and millions of human
beings have died in war. Most of the death toll is a consequence of twentieth
century warfare, in the two most destructive conflicts in human history.
Plagues and famine continue to be realities. Secular interpreters will see all of that as essentially random,
but biblical prophecy speaks of the major events in history as moving toward
something,--and that something is called the end time, or to use theological
language, the eschaton. You may have also heard the eschaton described as the day of judgment, when
the nations will stand before the
righteous judgment seat of God. The Old Testament prophet, Malachi , speaks of
this day in today’s first scripture reading. On that day the evil doers and the
arrogant will not stand, but will stumble, and God will recreate reality anew.
There will be no more doubt, no more uncertainty, no more evil, no more sin to
separate humanity from God.
God
has given us a glorious vision of this future in the book of Revelation, which
speaks of a New Heaven and New Earth, and a New Jerusalem—A New Jerusalem which
will be different from the old one. The New One will have no temple. For there
will be no need of one. God will be the
temple. God will dwell amongst the people. And the people will not be
subjected to pain, to death, to suffering. Every tear will be wiped from every
eye.
But
before that, there will be much turmoil, and Christians will be called to
witness to the truth through very difficult, painful, times. Through the
difficult trials Christians will be called to stand fast to the truth which has
been revealed to them. But through these difficult times Jesus has promised
that his followers will not be left alone. He himself will provide the words
and the wisdom. He will be the Word, which is the word of truth and of life.
But
the word of truth and life will be mocked and scorned. Those who follow Jesus
will be ridiculed. The Word will not be popular, and the Christian will face
tremendous pressure to renounce this Word. But against this ultimate pressure, Christians will be
called on to testify to the ultimate truth. When Christians testify, truly
testify, they find out the cost of discipleship. Yes, some Christians will have
to face persecution, and give an answer before formal authority. But for most
of us in the west, our testimony happens in a different kind of court ; for the
court in which the testimony takes place is not necessarily a formal court of
law, but the court of everyday life. Our testimony as Christians is made through what we say, but also,
and mainly, through what we do, how we live our lives. And what Christians do,
if they are truly following Jesus, will be hated. It will be hated because what
they do cuts against the grain—cuts against the grain of a social Darwinist
economic ethic of survival of the fittest, cuts against the grain of greed and
exploitation and idolatry and brutality, cuts against the grain of greed and selfishness,
and a “me first” way of doing things.
As
time progresses, Christians will appear more and more as the odd balls, and
will attract more and more negative attention.
But do not lose hope. The important point Jesus emphasizes is that Christians will
face persecution and rejection—rejection even in their own households. The
followers of Jesus will be betrayed and they will be hated. They will be hated,
but they will not be left alone.
Jesus will be there with them, Jesus will give them the words with which none
of their opponents will be able to contradict or withstand.
Like the
disciples of Jesus two thousand years ago, we would naturally want to know
exact dates, exact times. But Jesus does not give that, and we are not to know
that. Despite the rigorous attempts by some interpreters to figure out the
exact date of the end times, this knowledge has been withheld from us—and for
good reason. Clock-watching and working don’t go well together. The people Paul
refers to today, the idle busibodies,
had stopped working because they believed Christ’s second coming was
imminent. But God had not told
them to put down their shovels because he was on his way. So let us not get
focused on the question of when. But rather on the questions of where, who, and
how. Where am I to do God’s work in the
world? To whom I am going to proclaim the good news in word and action? And how
am I going to proclaim the good news.
Clearly, the work God has
given us is the spreading of the gospel in word and action. And we must do so
with God’s ultimate vision in mind. As St Paul tells us in today’s epistle
reading, we must never grow weary of doing what is right—as a community and as
individuals. There is no room for idleness. We must never lose sight of our
true mission to the world. We must never conform ourselves to the world, at the
expense of the Truth which has been given to us. We must never allow ourselves to be led astray by false
teachers who tickle our ears with the words we want to hear, but are words
which contradict the Word of God, and lead us down a path of disobedience. We must
never become so attached to our temples that they become God for us. Yes, this
is a beautiful building, and its stained glass windows are a beautiful new
addition. And many people have a fond attachment to this special place. But
this building can never be an end in itself. It is a tool, a means to an end,
and that end is the spreading of the Gospel and the love of neighbour. If it is
not an effective tool toward that end, then, it is an idol. Know the truth, and
the truth is this: No building constructed by human hands will ultimately stand—not
even the greatest, grandest temple. But what will stand is the Word of God.
And that
very Word is being proclaimed to us here today—in this gathered community. It
is a Word of judgment, which pronounces the death of sin. It is a Word of
justice which pronounces destruction on all which opposes life and love. It is a Word of
liberation, to all those oppressed by systems and tyrannys of this World. It is
a Word of freedom to those held in bondage to sin. It is a Word of healing to
those who are ill in mind, body, or spirit. It is the Word of life to those
weighed down by the power of death.
It is the Word of empowerment, which moves the community of saints
forward until that great day when God, who has done such marvelous things, will
do the ultimate thing. Cling to this precious gift, and do not lose heart—for
Jesus Christ is with us, Jesus Christ will feed us with his Word, Jesus will
feed us with His wisdom. And his wisdom tells us that nothing or anything can
separate us from the love He gives us—the love He feeds us with. God has indeed
done--and is going to do--marvelous things, beyond all human imagining. So let
us always and everywhere give God praise, trusting God’s Promise, and living
out God’s mission to the world. Now, may the peace which surpasses all
understanding guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.
