November 17, 2918 - Twenty-third Sunday in Pentecost - What Do We Do When the Temple Falls?

Sometimes these blog posts almost write themselves. They are like prayers about those who are gathered, the scripture being read, the music being sung or the ritual being performed.

This Sunday the topic was change and we, in our normal lives, tend to be afraid and resist it. I am not sure I agree with that premise, but I did not raise my hand when Pastor Ray asked the congregation 'Who likes change?"

I do not believe in the "good old days". I do not believe in "Make America Great Again" or that, in general, things are worse than they were in the past. Nor do I necessarily believe that we are always building toward a brighter future and that we are living in the best of times now. The Dickens quote "It was the best of times. It was the worst of times" often seems like a narcissistic description of each present generation.

Last week Martin Luther's apocryphal response about planting his apple tree was quoted by Pastor Ray foreshadowing this week's reading. Today's Gospel, Luke 21:5-19, reflects on the temple’s destruction.  Interestingly Jesus, in Luke 21:1-4, draws attention to a poor widow in the temple. He is focusing the disciple's attention on the poor, not on the temple building. He is focusing the disciple's attention on the present rather than venerating the past.

The Widow's Mite tends to be read alone and, with the verse 4, "All these people gave their gifts out of their wealth; but she out of her poverty put in all she had to live on." highlighting the choice she makes to give more from her poverty to the temple than the wealthy. We don't normally think about how the temple system is appropriating money from people, like the widow, whether this is voluntary or not. The veneration of the past is so strong she gives even to her own detriment. Perhaps what is needed is the conviction to burn our sacred temples in order to discover what remains. And what, ultimately, will her gift to the temple mean when the temple is destroyed? 

Do we need to take the words of the Spanish anarchist Buenaventura Durri seriously when he boldly declared "The only church that illuminates is a buring one"? So, once again, and from a different perspective, we are contemplating the impermanence of human achievement. We are also talking about the possible loss of the center of holy life for a chosen people,  The temple can be regarded is a sacred place, what is described as a thin place in today's terms, a place where the presence of God is felt by God's people.  This can be where God touches the world of God's people

Pastor Ray's sermon, by preaching on our anxiety around change, acted like a sliver which, I think, seized the congregation's attention to what many of us have on our minds. Our collective attention, while we are in a pledge drive, is around how to sustain Creator's building, paying our staff while continuing our ministry both now and in the future.

How is  Creator's ministry to look in the future?  Perhaps that question is the reason why change is approached reluctantly. It is hard to envision the future sometimes. Is now really the time for the end of one thing and the beginning of another? If so, what is God calling us to do in this time and place?

Pastor Ray preached that God’s faithful people should expect resurrection, redemption, and rescue.This is the good news Jesus gave his disciples and us. This is a silver lining in the dark cloud but it does not make the cloud any less dark or provide comfort or direction as to what to do to prepare for the storm, if indeed it is coming.

What do we do when the temple falls, as indeed we know it ultimately must? The Gospel may give us hope as to what will ultimately happen but does not make clear the path we may need to take without our participation and prayer..