Monday, March 4

Some of his disciples were remarking about how the temple was adorned with beautiful stones and with gifts dedicated to God. But Jesus said, "As for what you see here, the time will come when not one stone will be left on another; every one of them will be thrown down." "Teacher," they asked, "when will these things happen? And what will be the sign that they are about to take place?"

(Luke 21: 5-7)

A variation of this prediction introduces Jesus’ eschatological preaching to the disciples in all three synoptic gospels. In conducting brief background research, I learned that a majority of biblical scholars reason that Luke was written some time after 70 A.D., the date the temple at Jerusalem was destroyed. The temple was burned and melted gold flowed into the cracks between the stones. The Romans literally tore down the stones to get to the gold. Stone buildings are characteristically thought to be permanent. A dramatic event is required for them to crumble. There are many such structures in the world that have endured hundreds or even thousands of years. But yet the temple at Jerusalem, sixty to seventy years in construction, came down within a decade or so of completion. This certainly was a dramatic event of the day corresponding to the social upheaval that was under way.

Luke appears to use this accurate prediction to establish credibility as well as serving as a wonderful symbolic precursor to the more general and expansive predictions of the end of time that Jesus will make and be the subject of these devotions in the days to come. Physical things are not permanent. The love of God is. Beautiful churches, temples and chapels can indeed be a source of inspiration for a spiritual awakening, but awe in a magnificent structure without acting on the spirit it evokes is little more than building your spiritual house on sand.

Ron DeVeau