Not
one stone left on another....earthquakes...famines...plague
That
sounds horribly like the pictures we're seen on our screens in the
days since typhoon Haiyan struck the Philippines
Total
destruction
10,000
dead
100s
of thousands homeless
More
than nine million people struggling to survive without food, shelter
or clean drinking water.
It's
truly grim – surely one of the worst disasters of our time – the
kind of event that makes many people – whether with faith or
without – cry out “Where is God now?”
And our gospel this morning seems to be very little help. Where's the good news here?
Who,
when they have seen their children swept away and their home
destroyed, will in any way be comforted by the assurance that “this
will give you an opportunity to testify”
(actually,
be assured, that's not what Jesus says)
It's
hard to believe that such truly cataclysmic events are really part of
God's plan...and actually, I'm not sure that they are – or even
that this passage suggests this.
But
still...Jesus is looking at the splendour of the Temple – and
predicting its destruction.
It's
as if he had marched in to our wonderful 175 celebrations last year
and told a church full of happy people
“The
demolition team is on the way”
Shocking,
challenging stuff.
But
actually – that's not the real point of the reading, is it.
It's
all about the people – not the buildings – the
people
The
people who hang on to their faith against all the odds- in places of
real persecution – in Egypt, Pakistan, Nigeria...
Those
who hang on to God while everything around them is destroyed
Those
who even now are working 24 hours a day to bring relief to devestated
communities.
“By
your endurance, you will gain your souls”
When
we celebrated that big birthday last year
we
invited each of our birthday visitors to write their name on a
“stone” for our “living stones” collage. We looked at it, and
rejoiced that we had so many friends who wanted to mark their
connection with St Matthew's. We kept the collage where everyone
could see it for a few months – but after Christmas it got put away
in the corner by the organ and perhaps we put away its reminder then
too.
You
see, that collage is there to remind us that WE are the church...
If
our building was struck by lightning tomorrow – the Church in
Cainscross would still be here...because it's not the building that
counts. It's the people.
When
Jesus predicted the destruction of the Temple he was saying something
almost unthinkable. Jerusalem, and the Temple at its heart – were
absolutely central to the Jewish understanding of their relationship
with God – the focal point of their identity as His chosen people.
How
would they survive such faith-shattering events?
Where
would they look for reassurance if the beauty of God's house was
destroyed?
But
Jesus predicts destruction – quite calmly – with no hint of panic
in his words.
With
Jesus the emphasis shifts from the building – for its role has been
superseded by his coming into the world.
In
HIM God and humanity are reconciled – so we no longer need a Temple
in which to offer sacrifices
And
when he returns to the Father he leaves the Church – the Church in
all its messy reality – to live out that ministry of healing and
reconciliation...The church that is made up of PEOPLE...
You
– me – all those whose names appear on our collage – and more.
The
people through whom God's love is made present in the Philippines and
a thousand other troubled places in our world today.
We
can't rely on our buildings...or our jobs...or our health...or the
constant presence of the people whom we love.
Ultimately,
like every other short-term protection, they will fail.
That's
the nature of life.
Towers
and temples will fall. They have before and they will again.
Worlds
will fall apart – whether on the huge scale we see in Tacloban or
the small scale of the family up the road who are dealing with the
loss of a loved one to cancer.
The
good news is not protection against that.
The
good news is that towers and temples were not all they were cracked
up to be in the first place, and that in their falling is the
invitation to find the life and hope that will endure even when all
is thrown down.
For
it is when everything else has failed, when we find ourselves at rock
bottom that we see most clearly that only God’s unshakeable love
and towering compassion remain.
Our
world may come crashing down – but underneath are the everlasting
arms, which will never let us fall.
When
nothing else stands, God’s love remains.
Know
this – and know that love is for you – and for all those who cry
out today.
Trust
that God will never abandon even one of his children – trust, stand
firm and by your endurance, gain your souls.
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