While some people were speaking about
how the temple was adorned with costly stones and votive offerings
Even the most beautiful things of earth, the wonders of natural and of art and architecture, are only temporary. Yet we can hardly help but be transfixed by them, desiring on some level a beauty that endures. We can become so preoccupied with them that we forget their temporary nature, and with it, the finitude of the world. Without being explicit about it or even fully aware of it we may try to curate a life filled with such temporary beauty, shielded as much as we are able from any appearance of negativity or pain. But the nature of life here below does not long countenance such attempts to live in fairytales.
Jesus said, “All that you see here–
the days will come when there will not be left
a stone upon another stone that will not be thrown down.”
The temple itself, however beautiful it must have been, was only a transitional institution. It was set apart as the place where the presence of God dwelled with humankind (see Psalm 132:14). The glory cloud of the divine presence that once dwelt there must have made it seem as though it was in fact unsurpassable. Having the temple restored after being destroyed must have made it seem as though history was tending toward and not away from a prominent role for this temple. It may well have seemed as though history could reach its culmination with Israel free from Roman occupation and the sacrificial system of the temple continuing indefinitely. In other words, some might have seen the culmination of history as merely a polished and perfected version of what already existed. To utterly upend this notion and be clear that a profound change was coming Jesus was willing to shock his audience as he revealed the destiny of that temple in Jerusalem, which was only an image and a symbol of the heavenly temple. He might well remind us today that the ultimate goal of history is more than political leaders who pass just laws and religious leaders who only clearly teach the doctrines of the Church. Saint Peters and the White House may well have not a single stone present in the age to come.
He answered,
“See that you not be deceived,
for many will come in my name, saying,
‘I am he,’ and ‘The time has come.’
If we have a proper sense of in what the end of history will consist we will have a reduced risk at being deceived by the false promises of charlatan messiahs. No merely human figure, president, pope, or otherwise, will bring history to its culmination. As proof of which we see demonstrated before our eyes the very imperfectability of created things.
When you hear of wars and insurrections,
do not be terrified; for such things must happen first,
but it will not immediately be the end.
We obviously must work for peace, provide relief to victims of earthquakes, food to those suffering from famine, and medical services to places ravaged by plagues. These works of mercy were the way of life our Leader and King demonstrated to us. Yet he also commanded us to to live by faith, to work, without the need to see definitive and permanent results, to give, even when the gift seems far too small in the face of a problem that appears intractable.
Use your sickle and reap the harvest,
for the time to reap has come,
because the earth’s harvest is fully ripe.
It is precisely because we recognize the impermanence of created things, and because we hope for a higher fulfillment and perfection at the end of the age, which no human effort can attain, that we continue to pursue the good goals of mercy by faith. Even the shattering of what seems so good and beautiful in the world of time does not make our task hopeless. Even the fact that we will never by our own effort perfectly solve all of the many real issues of our age need not deter those of faith. The time of the harvest of coming. This we know for certain. And so we must labor in the fields of the world until it comes.
Then shall all the trees of the forest exult.
Before the LORD, for he comes;
for he comes to rule the earth.
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