While some people were speaking about
how the temple was adorned with costly stones and votive offerings
The beautiful and spiritual things of earth are good, but they are meant to help us direct our minds toward things of heaven. They possess goodness by participation, and are primarily symbols of a goodness that is greater and as yet unseen. It is necessary for such symbols to give way so that the deeper reality can be apprehended. At one scale this happened when the world that the temple of Jerusalem represented was destroyed by the Romans. The various symbols of Old Testament sacrifice thus ended and gave way to the reality to which they pointed, the true Paschal lamb who had come. At another scale it will happen again at the end of time when the old and fallen creation itself gives way to the renewal of all things, and even the efficacious symbols of the sacraments give way to true vision. Jesus taught his followers keys for living in end times, whether the end of Second Temple Judaism, or the end of time. They are useful keys for us as well, whether or not we live in the last age. For if we do not live in the last age, nevertheless we recognize many of the signs of which Jesus spoke, and can assume that we are at minimum participating a dress rehearsal.
"Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom.
There will be powerful earthquakes, famines, and plagues
from place to place;
and awesome sights and mighty signs will come from the sky.
What were the keys Jesus taught his followers to ensure they would be able to persevere in such times? He told them to not be deceived, to not be terrified, and to be ready to rely on the Holy Spirit rather than on themselves.
"See that you not be deceived,
for many will come in my name, saying,
'I am he,' and 'The time has come.'
We must be grounded in the truth Jesus taught in order to about the deception of the devil, who is a liar and the father of lies (see John 8:44). Jesus gave us his Church as the pillar and foundation of truth (see First Timothy 3:15) and through also gave us the Scriptures which are "profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness" (see Second Timothy 3:16). Only thus grounded in the truth that comes from God can we hope to avoid falling prey to the sensationalistic claims made by others. Untethered from our true hope in the Messiah we might give undue credence to political figures who seem either to be the solution to all of our problems, or else the cause of them.
Without knowing the true trajectory of history we will probably experience terror in the face of wars, earthquakes, famines, and plagues. But when our hearts hear Jesus say "do not be terrified" we can have the peace that comes from knowing that, no matter how bad things seem, God's plan is undeterred and his promise holds. There are various legitimate contenders vying to cause this terror in us, whether our modern plague, or global warming, or the various geopolitical struggles that seem only to escalate. But these things are not themselves the end. If they were in fact the end we would likely be left too terrified to be able to help mount a useful response, to do our part, because it would then seem that everything was falling apart, and headed only for irredeemable destruction. It is precisely the peace that is the gift of Jesus to us that makes us useful in these preliminaries to the true end of history. We are able to remember that even as all the things of this world are shaken they are only shaken to reveal that which cannot be shaken. This causes us to cultivate the unshakable in ourselves, which is precisely what is needful in any worldly crisis.
This phrase, “Yet once more,” indicates the removal of things that are shaken—that is, things that have been made—in order that the things that cannot be shaken may remain (see Hebrews 12:2).
What is our primary role in these times that precede, by however much, the end of all things? It is to give testimony to name of Jesus. We may or may not be led before kings and governors, but none of us are exempt from witnessing to Jesus in whatever sphere of influence he has given to us. If we are properly grounded in the truth and if we avail ourselves of the peace that is his gift we will be in a good position to heed the guidance of the Holy Spirit even in what would otherwise be very stressful moments. To hear the still small voice we need the truth of Jesus to point us toward it, and the peace of Jesus to calm all of the competing noise enough for us to hear it. It often seems easier to prepare our defense beforehand. But this strategy never seems to work, does it? No matter how perfectly our planned conversations, without the help of the Spirit there is always something unexpected to throw us for a loop, always something we wish we had said or not said. Only the Spirit himself knows the perfect testimony for a particular person at that precise moment in her life.
Remember, you are not to prepare your defense beforehand,
for I myself shall give you a wisdom in speaking
that all your adversaries will be powerless to resist or refute.
If we remember these keys Jesus gave us we will be ready to face a world in which at least some things are assuredly going to end. Even in such times we will be able to heed the command of Paul to work quietly and eat our own food rather getting caught up in the business of others, even if that business purports to be apocalyptic in nature. Our hope will be rooted beyond the shakable and insubstantial present moment, anchored in the eternal heavenly temple, in Jesus himself (see Hebrews 6:19). However much chaos and evil seems to fill our world we will nevertheless cling to our hope that "there will arise the sun of justice with its healing rays".
Let the sea and what fills it resound,
the world and those who dwell in it;
let the rivers clap their hands,
the mountains shout with them for joy.
Before the LORD, for he comes,
for he comes to rule the earth,
he will rule the world with justice
and the peoples with equity.
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