The temple in Jerusalem must have been an awesome sight to the disciples. It might have appeared as one of the wonders of the world to them. I can imagine them gawking up at the walls soaring above them, much as we might gawk at the National Cathedral. They admired the beautiful stonework, and the beautiful gifts dedicated to God. Then Jesus poked a hole in their balloon by saying, “the days will come when not one stone will be left upon another, all will thrown down.” He went on to describe the apocalypse that was to come, when there would be wars, and famine, and plague. Not even the temple, this holy place, would withstand what was to come. In fact the temple was destroyed by the Romans in the year 70.
Let me change the scene. In Shenandoah National Park, you can take a short hike to an abandoned Episcopal mission on the side of one of the mountains. It is called the Pocosin mission, and served the hill folks in that area for a short time. It was begun by an energetic young missioner in 1904 and had to be abandoned when the Park evicted all the residents. It was probably never much to look at – a small church in the woods with a small cabin (rectory?) and a shed for the animals. When we visited we could trace out from the foundation stones where the steps into the church had been, and where the sacristy and altar must have stood. I couldn’t help but reflect on how hopeful and excited that young minister must have been to build his own church. It was quite an effort. When the people were evicted and the mission no longer had a purpose, it must have felt a bit like the apocalypse to the people and the minister. Now where walls had stood, where people had gathered to baptize and marry and bury, there were only a few foundation stones left one upon another. Someday even that will be gone.
As we come to the end of the church year, the readings for the daily office and for Eucharist take on an apocalyptic flavor. We are to ponder the end of time, the end of things as we know them. There will be tribulation, wars and rumors of war, famine, and earthquakes, and plagues, and dreadful portents. It doesn’t take much watching of the evening news on TV to believe that the apocalypse could be right now. As we speak we are in a war, there is famine, there was an earthquake in Haiti, and now an epidemic of cholera. Greed and corruption abound as people look out for themselves, and beggar their neighbor. These can seem like dreadful portents. We fear what it might mean for us, for our nation, and for the world. Fear easily turns to anger, and anger easily turns to violence in a terrible cycle. Will one stone be left upon another?
Then there are the small apocalypses closer to home. We have our own personal apocalypses. Jesus tells the disciples that they will be arrested and persecuted. “You will be betrayed even by parents and brothers and relatives and friends.” The death of loved ones, divorce, sickness, the loss of a job, economic insecurity all feel like the end of good times, like the apocalypse. How devastating it must have felt for that young minister, to have his dreams dashed for his mission church.
But all of these apocalyptic portents have been true since before the time of Jesus. It would not take much to predict that they would continue. All that we build, stone upon stone, will one day be torn down. As it says in Ecclesiastes, all is vanity, and a chasing after wind. Perhaps we have been fooled into thinking that what we build will continue. Perhaps we have believed the advertising that a nice home and car, having the right stuff, the good education will protect us from suffering. If we are honest, we realize that we are in the end times right now, and have been for some time.
It would be easy to sink into despair and fear. But we Christians have a different perspective. Jesus tells the disciples that even as they are being arrested and persecuted, that he will give them the words and wisdom that they need. He tells them that not a hair of their head will perish. By their endurance they will gain their souls.
We Christians know there is a better prize than earthly wealth and security, better even than our earthly lives. That prize is our spiritual integrity and our relationship with Christ. That prize is to live in the truth, in the affirmation that goodness overcomes evil. That prize is living in the joy of knowing there will be a new creation after present things have ended. In Isaiah God tells us he is about to “create new heavens and a new earth; the former things shall not be remembered or come to mind… no more shall the sound of weeping be heard in it.” We begin to live in that new creation even now, as the old passes away. That is our Christian hope.
It is that hope that changes our view of suffering. The widespread belief of our contemporary culture seems to be that suffering can be eliminated with enough education, advances in medical research, and well managed economics. But suffering seems to be part of life, and our response to suffering tells us something about our character. I’m not saying that we should welcome suffering, that we should go looking for it, but that it will come to us in its own time and its own way, at least as long as we are living in the apocalypse. When we endure it, we learn that we need not be defeated by it. Through it, we find that Christ is by our side, enduring it along with us, and so we make Christ our friend. We let others give us comfort and care, and they become new friends too. By it we are humbled to know that we are not gods ourselves, and come to know our need for God himself. Through suffering we learn the power of hope that there will be an end to it, and so we look forward to the coming of the Kingdom. By our endurance we will gain our souls.
One of our core beliefs as Christians is in the resurrection of Christ after he died on the cross. But I think the idea of resurrection is broader than one person, or even of all of us. Resurrection is a law of nature, I think. Death propagates life. A seed must die to being a seed in order to become a new plant. The nutrients released by decomposing plants and animals nourish new life. Sometimes encrusted organizations must die in order for vibrant new ones to take their place. We must die to our old sinful and self-centered nature in order take on new life in Christ. Perhaps nations and cultures must perish in order for something new and surprising and wonderful to begin.
While we enjoy the comfort and joy of our Christian hope, this hope also gives us a sacred responsibility. In a world that is afraid, and angry, and violent, we must let people know that there is hope. In the BCP it says that our mission is to reconcile all people to God and each other in Jesus Christ. We begin to do that when we help people see we are in this together, and that our hope is not in vain.
It may well be that one stone will not be left upon another. It may well be that all will be thrown down. But God promises that resurrection happens. I trust that young minister of Pocosin mission found another parish or other ways to minister, and that his work was not in vain, but helped build something new. I trust that we will endure our small apocalypses and sufferings, and it will enlarge our souls. And I trust that in the end, when the end really does come, that the Kingdom of God in its fullness will astonish and delight us. For God says, “I am about to create new heavens and a new earth..Be glad and rejoice forever in what I am creating.”