As we come to the end of the Church’s liturgical year we hear certain Scripture passages that might cause us to ask “This is the Good News?” The Gospel passage that we just heard is part of a “discourse,” or a speech, in which Jesus speaks of what we would call the End Times. This is the second of two of these discourses that Jesus gives in the Gospel of Luke. The passage that we hear today is the first part of this particular discourse, and the primary meaning of this passage is Jesus’ prediction of the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem.
The context of this passage is that Jesus had just finished teaching in the temple, and after leaving, his disciples were admiring the grandeur and magnificence of the Temple. It was indeed grand, one of the architectural wonders of the ancient Middle East. It’s like going to New York, Chicago, or any large city for the first time and looking up at all of the tall buildings in amazement. But then Jesus says to them, “As for these things which you see, the days will come when there shall not be left here one stone upon another that will not be thrown down.”
This prediction would have reminded his listeners about a similar prediction of the prophet Jeremiah about the destruction of the original Temple that actually took place in the year 587 B.C. by the Babylonians. And we know from history that this current Temple, rebuilt by Herod, was in fact destroyed and burned by the Romans in the year 70 A.D., just 40 years after the death of Jesus.
The Jewish people took great pride in their temple; it was everything to them. It would have been like the Vatican, the White House, and the New York Stock Exchange all rolled into one. It was certainly a marvel of the ancient world. And the prediction of its destruction was a grim warning of the spiritual judgment of Israel.
However, the Church has always seen a deeper significance in the prophecy of the temple’s destruction, because the Jews saw a deeper significance in the temple itself. So in order to understand the deeper significance or the deeper meaning of Jesus’ words, it’s important to remember what the temple was to a first century Jew. The temple was not just a beautiful building. It was everything! And there were three key elements that made it so important. First of all, it was the dwelling place of God. It’s where the Spirit of God, the glory cloud, came down from Heaven to dwell in the Temple, specifically on the Ark of the Covenant.
Secondly, the temple was the sole place of sacrifice. So if you were Jewish and you wanted to worship God through sacrifice—you couldn’t do it just anywhere. You had to go to one place and one place only; that was the temple in Jerusalem, the central sanctuary—the only place for worshiping God through sacrifice.
Third and finally, and this is the one that’s most significant for understanding Jesus’ prophecies and what they might mean for us. The temple was viewed as a microcosm of Heaven and Earth. In other words, the Jews saw the architecture of the temple itself as symbolizing the Heavens and the Earth. The huge bronze basin in the outer court represented the sea; the lampstand, the menorah, represented the lights of the heavens, the seven planets they were able to see; and on the veil to the Holy of Holies, the central sanctuary, was woven the stars, the constellations, representing the heavens.
Because the destruction of the Temple was a real event in history that was prophesied by Jesus, it points forward to the end of the world at the end of time. So for the Jews, when the temple was destroyed, there was a real sense in which its destruction symbolized the destruction of the universe, the destruction of heaven and earth.
Now – while the primary meaning of this passage is the destruction of the temple, it was also a call to alertness and readiness for Jesus’ disciples—for them to be steadfast in their faith. It was meant for a specific purpose: to offer hope to those who feel that all hope was lost, but also to remind Luke’s readers, which includes all of us, that they need to remain steadfast in their faith in order to withstand the trials that will come.
Jesus is saying these things not to scare us, but to make us realize that we need to be prepared for the tribulation of the Antichrist, and the false prophets who will come and try to deceive us, to cause confusion and tempt us to follow imposters.
We are challenged by these readings today to understand that our trust and faith in God doesn’t necessarily protect us from catastrophe, suffering and death. Jesus doesn’t tell us there won’t be trouble; instead, he assures us that it will come and we must prepare for it. But if we endure with grace and faith in him, then it can be an occasion to strengthen us and add depth to our relationship with God.
And the teaching of the Church re-emphasizes all of this. It says in the Catechism of the Catholic Church:
“Before Christ’s second coming the Church must pass through a final trial that will shake the faith of many believers. The persecution that accompanies her pilgrimage on earth will unveil the “mystery of iniquity” in the form of a religious deception offering men an apparent solution to their problems at the price of apostasy from the truth. The supreme religious deception is that of the Antichrist, … by which man glorifies himself in place of God …” (CCC 675)
“The Church will enter the glory of the kingdom only through this final Passover, when she will follow the Lord in his death and Resurrection.” (CCC 677)
The Catechism goes on to say:
“The Church … will receive its perfection only in the glory of heaven at the time of Christ’s glorious return. Until that day, the Church “progresses on her pilgrimage amidst this world’s persecutions and God’s consolations. … The Church, and through her the world, will not be perfected in glory without great trials.” (CCC 769)
When we look at the world today, we see countless signs and symbols that we might say would be a signal that the end of the world is near. I’ve been asked on more than one occasion, “Do you think we are in the End Times?” The answer is “Yes. And we’ve been in the End Times ever since Jesus’ death and resurrection.” Some of these signs and symbols we see may be fairly general and widespread; some may be more personal to us. But these readings today tell us that the focus on the end-time is to prepare us for the final judgment and to make us more attentive to the ways of God here and now. That’s why the Catechism can say:
“The message of the Last Judgment calls men to conversion while God is still giving them “the acceptable time, … the day of salvation’ (2 Cor 6:2).” (CCC 1041)
Jesus tells his disciples that if they endure to the end they will gain their lives—they will inherit abundant life and lasting happiness with God. Endurance is an essential strength which God gives to those who put their trust in him. Endurance is the patience which never gives up hope, never gives in to despair or hatred. Patience is long-suffering because it looks beyond our present difficulties and trials and sees the reward which comes to those who persevere with hope and trust in God. As St. Paul says in his letter to the Romans: “I consider the sufferings of this present time to be as nothing compared to the glory to be revealed for us” (Rom 8:18).
But we can take comfort and be certain that God is found in the darkness. He is calling us to live lives of justice and witness so that we may carry and proclaim the gospel to all the places that we go and to everyone we meet.
When we come to Mass to share in the Eucharist, we are reminded that the suffering of Jesus and his resurrection tell us that our own suffering is not useless suffering; that there is hope; a joy and happiness we can’t even begin to comprehend. So when we think of the future and the events that lead to the end, fear, worry and speculation must give way to careful and constant preparation. That preparation consists in living wisely and justly in all we are, and in all we do, through prayer and participation of the sacraments, so that we can be strengthened and persevere, as Jesus says in today’s Gospel.
There is no need to fear Christ’s Second Coming. All we need to do is surrender ourselves to living the paschal mystery, and accept his gift of mercy. This is a small price to pay in this life in order to share in His eternal glory.