Proper 28 (C) + Living Stones + 11.17.19

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(Living Stones Succulent from: https://www.aliexpress.com/
item/32250096133.html)

M. Campbell-Langdell
All Santos, Oxnard
(Isaiah 65:17–25; Canticle 9; 2 Thess. 3:6–13; St Luke 21:5–19)

“See, in Zion He is known
As a chosen precious cornerstone
And the ones who come to trust in Him
Will never know the shame
That He bore on that Cross when it seems
That all was lost
He is a Stone that makes men stumble
The Rock that makes them fall
Living stones, living stones
We are holy, living stones
Built upon the firm foundation
That is Jesus
And as we cling to that Rock
Who became a Stumbling Block
We remember we are living stones”
(Michael Card, “Living Stones”)
Today I would like to talk of temples. Temples of stone and temples of people.
In today’s gospel, the disciples are checking out the temple in Jerusalem. Now this was Herod’s pet project, a sort of memorial to him. And to get a sense of the scope, you might want to think about the pyramids in Egypt, Mexico and Guatemala. He was busy turning an entire side of Mount Moriah (the Temple Mount) into a worship space, and the entire structure was to be 1600 feet wide by 900 feet broad by 9 stories high, although it was not completed to design. Huge blocks of stone were dragged using pulleys and elaborate mechanisms and then finished on the site once placed.[1] Listening to this, you begin to realize why the disciples were impressed. This was impressive stuff. A truly enormous undertaking.
Despite this, I didn’t fully understand the significance of the Temple Mount to the Judeo-Christian faiths and to the people of the Holy Land until I visited there. Although I had read about the great Temple about which Jesus spoke, the destruction of the Temple seemed to me an historic event, not much affecting the lives of current believers.
But when we encountered the Wailing or Western Wall in Jerusalem, I understood an entirely different story. I saw how deeply it stirred the faith of those present. I saw how, even though the existing wall was just a remnant of the exterior walls of the old temple, how it moved Jews and others of the Abrahamic faiths. And I witnessed how much the people mourned the fact that the temple had not been rebuilt. Even though in many ways rebuilding the temple now would be strange in the light of current Judaism, as it has become a rabbinic faith. It has become a faith spread around the world, with a center still in Jerusalem, but with a faith lived out weekly in the constant devotion of those in synagogues around the world, each gathered under the auspices of a rabbi leader.
In the same way, when Jesus speaks of the downfall and rebuilding of the temple in Jerusalem, he speaks in part of his very body. His body which will die and resurrect on the third day. But he also speaks of us as believers, rebuilding the temple of faith together. Because we know from 1 Peter 2:5 that we are living stones. As it says in that scripture, “like living stones, let yourselves be built into a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.” Just so, we the faithful build up the temples of faith, not just of stone but of the church universal.
Because seeing how Jesus commands the disciples to witness to him in today’s passage, I am reminded. I owe my life and my salvation to Jesus. But I owe my faith to those who have shown me the faith over the years. Who was the first person to bring you to church? Or who has been a living stone in your life? Who welcomed you into a place of faith which embraced you just as you are, not as the world would have you be?
“Living stones, living stones
We are holy, living stones
Built upon the firm foundation
That is Jesus
And as we cling to that Rock
Who became a Stumbling Block
We remember we are living stones” (Michael Card, “Living Stones”)
We remember and because of this, we strive to share the good news of Jesus with others. The good news of a God who loves us in our unique expression of the myriad and rainbow ways people can be in the world. When in 2nd Thessalonians we read about not growing weary in doing good, I think of this. Not just in not tiring of our daily work, but in not tiring of sharing love with others and sharing the good news.
We are the living stones who are building. And God is building something new in us.
As we hear in Isaiah today, “But be glad and rejoice forever in what I am creating; for I am about to create Jerusalem as a joy, and its people as a delight. I will rejoice in Jerusalem, and delight in my people.”
And we know that the New Jerusalem, unlike that of old, will be a new place for all believers to be ourselves. Where justice and peace will flourish for all. Where the strong can be meek and the weak can find their strength.
“By the Word of His mouth
We are made one holy house
Though we live as scattered strangers
We are not homeless, we are free
We are one family and one fold
One Overseer of our souls
Says we are His own possession
We are living stones” (Michael Card, “Living Stones”).
(Source: Musixmatch.com)

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_Temple#Herod.27s_Temple.

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