Word to the Wise
Tuesday, November 27, 2018 - Tuesday in the 34th Week in Ordinary Time
[Rev 14:14-19 and Luke 21:5-11]While some people were speaking about how the temple was adorned with costly stones and votive offerings, 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." Then they asked him, "Teacher, when will this happen? And what sign will there be when all these things are about to happen?" He answered, "See that you not be deceived, for many will come in my name, saying, 'I am he,' and 'The time has come.' Do not follow them. [Luke]
The destruction of the temple by the Roman military at the end of the Jewish rebellion 66-70 A.D. was seen by many early Christians as a possible sign of the end of time! When something that was so central to Jewish identity (and we must remember that many of the first Christians still thought of themselves as ethic and religious Jews) was completely destroyed, it is as if the word is coming to an end. Maybe if an earthquake in Rome reduced St. Peter's Basilica and the Vatican to rubble, we might have a similar feeling. The evangelist Luke is writing to say that the destruction of the temple, as bad as it was, was not a sign of the end of time. Furthermore, Christians would undergo much more persecution and "Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom...powerful earthquakes, famines and plagues...." None of these are to be considered as signs of Jesus' return.
The message comes down to this. We must live according to Jesus' teachings so as to be prepared to meet him both immediately at death and at the end of time. Trying to predict the latter will be useless, but living according to Jesus' teachings is very possible to us individually as well as collectively. The Holy Spirit is in our midst to lead and guide if we are willing to pay attention. AMEN