For over 20 centuries the gospel of Jesus has been changing the course of history, moving people, toppling down kingdoms, dominions and dynasties, leveling down many mountains of pride, prejudice, pompousness and the like, winning millions for Jesus and inviting rejection from many more. His words continue to comfort millions and we are among them.
Sometimes he appeals to us to the very bottom of our hearts while at other times he seems to be far from us. In spite of our faith in him, we often find the call of the world more appealing. For our children and the youngsters of our times, the glory and the promises this world make are more appealing than the promise of the glory Jesus offers.
In today’s gospel Jesus speaks about the Temple of Jerusalem. Though only a replica of Solomon’s original, it was a brilliant piece of art and architecture that ever existed; and Jesus predicted that not a single stone would be left on another. Its destruction later was total. Not many believed what Jesus said that day, perhaps not even his disciples. For them it was beyond destruction. In his proclamation Jesus also emphatically predicted the total destruction of this world with all its glitter and glory and the establishment of another glorious kingdom by himself. Our faith in that prediction prompts us to gather around his altar every weekend and some every day.
Now, we need to re-examine how strong, powerful and total is our commitment to his promise and to his kingdom. For many who have gone before us his predictions about being arrested, persecuted, tried, condemned and killed did happen and they willingly accepted them. For many these do happen in our own times and we are vaguely aware of such happenings, as they do not affect our daily life nor do they move us to action. For many the wisdom and brilliance Jesus promised of defending him before his opponents worked.
May be some of the promises Jesus made to each of us are being fulfilled. However, how many of us truly believe that all his promises will be fulfilled for each of us living here and now? If we truly believe, how much trouble do we take to witness to those promises? Do we truly believe that “not a hair of your head will perish” without his knowledge? Yes, we are walking toward the escatological times. The Parousia, his second coming, is on the way! Wake up, move on!
Fr. George