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.’ Mark 13:1-2

Once I contemplated apply for a clergy position in England. This was many years ago. The profile of the community seemed to meet my personal idea of ministry. It seemed to be a good match. However, if I was to be honest, the most attractive thing to me was the church building. Maybe I am just superficial or maybe it is because I am an Anglican. We are drawn to beautiful sacred architecture. This beautiful ancient church was built in the year 1000. I was enamored by its history and beauty. The idea of serving in a parish enthralled my soul. However, the more I thought about this, the less sure I became about the prospect. I was afraid that the church building might come tumbling down on my watch. I know some might think I am a little paranoid. Most likely, you are right. Nevertheless, nothing lasts forever. All our best constructed buildings one day will come tumbling down. All our institutions will end one day. All our nations will be nothing but a page in the history books. Nothing lasts forever. As the wise preacher of Ecclesiastes taught us; “To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven”.

Everything under the sun, good or bad, has a beginning and an end. Perhaps we are relieved when a bad season completes its turn but we also have to accept that the contrary is true. This is not pessimism. It is just the nature of Life. Sometimes good things can end up being a curse. We tend to hold onto these and refuse to accept their end. We want them to last forever when they were meant to be temporary. The result is that the “good” can become a curse and blind us from seeing the eternal God present in the new things which come our way.

“And no one puts new wine into old wineskins; or else the new wine bursts the wineskins, the wine is spilled, and the wineskins are ruined. But new wine must be put into new wineskins.” Mark 2:22

In the gospel text quoted above, Jesus prophesied the destruction of the Temple.

The Temple played an important role in the lives of God’s people. It gave them their spiritual identity. It was a symbol of union. The people of Israel were very diverse. In the time of Jesus, many lived in different nations and consequently spoke different languages and had different customs. Most of them risked their lives to travel to Jerusalem to worship in the Temple. It was the only place where they were permitted to offer sacrifices to God who redeemed them. It also played an important political role and still plays the same role today. I am not going to address this here. The point is that the words of Jesus should have been devastating to the apostles. They believed that Jesus was the promised Messiah. The people expected the Messiah to restore Israel and elevate its glory above all the nations. The Temple was also an important symbol of Israel’s past glories and now Jesus prophesied that this symbol would be utterly destroyed. This should have disturbed them but we don’t see such reaction. In fact, they were curious about this event but they didn’t seemed to be disturbed. Nevertheless, these words of Jesus were used against Him by the religious leaders at his trial. They considered his comment to be blasphemous. The symbol came to be on par with the very thing it represented. This was not the case with the disciples. They did not allow the old symbols to hinder them from receiving the New Wine.

Recently, I was given a book published in 1857. The store owner had given up hope of ever selling it because it was in English and it was an old theological book. I had never heard of it. I later learned that it is considered to be a Christian classic; “The Christ of History” by John Young. The author argued that Jesus, without resorting to miracles nor religious arguments, can be shown to be the true divine Christ just through his earthly life and teachings. The book has enriched my reading of the gospels. It has made me pay attention to things which I have often overlooked; mainly the very beginning of His earthly ministry. Jesus chose simple tradesmen to be part of His movement. Since I come from a time when kings and queens play a passive role in society, I never paid much attention to this peculiar act. However, in Jesus’ time, this was not how a King established His Kingdom. Usually, powerful lords and nobles were chosen for the task. This makes logical sense, after all what would tradesmen know about administrating lands and issuing out orders. The success of any Kingdom demands capable people to be in power. The Kingdom of God is not one of the many kingdoms of this world. It is not something constructed out of the wisdom of humanity. It doesn’t subject itself to the seasons of Time. It is an eternal Kingdom.

Jesus chose people who had no intention of being anything great in this world. We have to remember in Jesus’ time, the social classes were more rigid. No one moved up or down the social ladder. Everyone was born into their place in society. Jesus never made any promises that His disciples would move up the social ladder. Nonetheless, their social status doesn’t change the nature of their souls. It did not diminish the clamor of their souls to be connected to something eternal. For them, the Temple is something which helped them be connected with God and nothing else. In a way, they had a purer idea of its symbolic value. This is why Jesus chose his disciples amongst these people. They were more sensitive to His message because they sought an eternal connection for their lives. Those who had other interests besides the yearnings of their souls held on to symbols as if these were the very thing that satisfied their souls.

I found this to be true in our ministry to the homeless youth. We have young parents in our midst who baptize their children in the Roman Catholic Church while they themselves attend a Pentecostal church regularly. They also seek constant spiritual guidance from us but they have never heard of the Anglican Church. Meanwhile each church tries to assert the importance and essential role of its presence in the world. Our youth just see each symbol as a connection with God. They are not devastated if a symbol stops serving its purpose as long as there is a connection with the Eternal Father who is always present in their midst in some shape or form.

In the gospel text, Jesus was talking about the end times and His imminent return. Here we are two thousands later and Jesus hasn’t returned yet. However, the warning is still relevant. First, we have to recognize the symbols for what they are. They have a season in our lives. They are good and valuable but they only serve the purpose of connecting us to the Eternal God. When they stopped doing this, then they are no longer valuable. If we insist on holding on them, then we will deviate our eyes from the eternal and idolize the very thing which is supposed to save us from idolatry. In the worst case scenario, we continue to seek other symbols which do not connect us with anything eternal but drive us away from all things holy and sound.

Someone once asked us if our youth misses us when we are away. They miss us but not as much as some imagine. They miss us because we have become part of their daily routine. However, in their lives, people come and go. They used to the transitoriness of life. They know people are in their lives for a season. They don’t fall apart when the season ends. We learned this important lesson from them. Everything has its season whether good or bad. In each season, there is something to connect us with the Eternal. Therefore, we should always seek to identify this connection in our lives. It helps us recognize the person of Jesus clearer. However, we should also be careful not to confuse one thing for another. The symbol is a mere symbol. It has its season and it will end one day.