CW* Trinity 25 - Proper 28

As he came out of the temple, one of his disciples said to him, “Look, Teacher, what large stones and what large buildings!” Then Jesus asked him, “Do you see these great buildings? Not one stone will be left here upon another; all will be thrown down.”

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, amen.

Here are some news headlines and quote from the world of political reporting: “Earth shattering, campaign ending news;” “Misinformation has flooded the world with the proverbial;” “Politics has been blown open by a crises;” “There are greater storms in politics than you will ever find at sea.” “Our loss of authority in one field leading to misfortune in others just as an avalanche, gathering speed sweeps all before it.”

Earth shattering, flooded the world, blown open by a crises, greater storms, an avalanche, gathering speed sweeps all before it. It is very normal to use cataclysmic imagery to describe world-changing events and Jesus does so in today’s gospel:

“When you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be alarmed; this must take place, but the end is still to come. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; there will be earthquakes in various places; there will be famines. This is but the beginning of the birth pangs.”

In 70 AD, the earth-shattering event happened: The Roman army, moving like an avalanche from northern galilee, swept away all in its path, flooding into Jerusalem and destroying the temple. The Israelite world was blown-open.

The temple was the place, in the Israelite narrative, where God dwelt. Where heaven and earth came together. Psalm 132 , for example:

I will not give sleep to my eyes or slumber to my eyelids, 5 until I find a place for the Lord, a dwelling place for the Mighty One of Jacob.” 6 Rise up, O Lord, and go to your resting place, you and the ark of your might. 9 Let your priests be clothed with righteousness, and let your faithful shout for joy. 10 For the Lord has chosen Jerusalem; he has desired it for his habitation: 14 “This is my resting place forever; here I will reside, for I have desired it. 15 I will abundantly bless its provisions; I will satisfy its poor with bread. 16 Its priests I will clothe with salvation, and its faithful will shout for joy. 17 There I will cause a horn to sprout up for David; I have prepared a lamp for my anointed one. 18 His enemies I will clothe with disgrace, but on him, his crown will gleam.”

“Do you see these great buildings?” Says Jesus, “Not one stone will be left here upon another; all will be thrown down.”

The lynchpin of heaven and earth will be taken away, heaven and earth completely separated and cosmic imagery is used to express this major turnaround in the way the world is. This is not about the end of the created order but about the end of the current world order. It is an apocalypse but in the true sense of the word apocalypse, an unveiling, a revelation. The Jewish world has been uprooted and it is terrifying. Terrifying of course because of the slaughter, killing, and famine of war. But terifying also because the Jewish source of identity had been brought to nothing, where was God?

The temple has been detroyed because God’s people hadn’t been the people they where called to be, a kingdom of priests. Called to peform the temple liturgy but also called to live out what the liturgy pointed to.

This all points to Jesus, the living temple. The life in which God lived. Crushed by the political and religious storms of the world. Because humanity had not been the kingdom of priests we have been called to be. Jesus tells his disciples that, in these cataclysmic events, they are going to have a hard time of it because they don’t fit. But endure, he says. We, as anglo-catholics, probably know a bit about not fitting in!

The events in the headlines this week regarding our church are earth-shattering, and they are indicative of a huge problem and they are yet another reminder that the church hasn’t been the kingdom of priests we have been called to be.

In Jesus, God allows the place in which he dwells to be destroyed in order to raise something new from the depths of the sea of death. It is in times like this, that we become so aware of our dependance on that hope. That all the abuses of power, both large and small, the selfishness, the horrible judgement of those different to us, the violence, the greed, the apathy, all will be burried in the deepest depths of that deathly sea, as Jesus pulls us into his garden temple.

As we receive communion, we receive a glimpse of that hand which will pull us out of the darkest storm. As our temples collapse, God is there, his own space destroyed, and God will raise us up.

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, amen.