33rd Sunday of the Year

Not a Stone upon A Stone – Lk 21:5-19

In 1906, the city of San Francisco was shaken by a powerful earthquake. Broken gas lines ignited uncontrollable fires. It was one of the worst natural disasters ever to strike the United States mainland. The city was virtually destroyed. Afterwards, religious spokesmen began to interpret the disaster in terms of divine judgment. They insisted that God was punishing the city because it was so sinful. They drew parallels between San Francisco and the biblical cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. They predicted that this was the beginning of the end of the world.

In today’s Gospel reading, Jesus gave his disciples a grim prediction of the future. It includes the destruction of the temple. Not one stone will be left upon another. For them that thought was almost unthinkable. They could not imagine life without the temple. But the bad news did not end there. He also told them there would be wars, and earthquakes, and plagues, and famines. Worse yet, they would be persecuted because of their loyalty to him. Worse of all, they would be betrayed by their family members and friends. It was a grim picture indeed.

Why did Jesus tell his disciples all this? I am sure that it was not to satisfy their curiosity about the future. He was not giving them a checklist that they could use to anticipate coming events. Why would he do that? Remember, this is the same man who said: “Do not be anxious about tomorrow. Today has enough troubles of its own.” ( Mt 6:34 ) My guess is that Jesus told them these things because the other things – wars, earthquakes, and famines – have come true in every generation. Perhaps he was simply preparing them and us to face life’s calamities.

We can start by recognizing that many of our troubles are not as fearful as they seem. Some of them are quite manageable. Do you remember we were children and our mother took us to the doctor for the annual flu shot or whatever? We all thought it was the most painful experience of our lives. A doctor, mother and two nurses managed to hold us down. Then it was all over.

We do not have to face life’s calamities alone. Jesus told his disciples not to worry about their defense - that he would provide it. The entire tone of this reading is that he would be with them through all of their calamities. He went so far as to say, “Some of you will be put to death.” But to that grim prediction, he added this strange assurance, “Yet not a hair of your head will be harmed.” What a strange statement – put to death, yet unharmed. It must surely mean that through faith in Christ, can we get beyond the reach of trouble. Nothing can harm us, not even death.

That is high ground for the human spirit. And it is the Christian answer to life’s calamities – not an explanation, but the power to overcome them. Jesus said, “By patient endurance you will save your lives.”