Pastor Tom Johnson, November 14, 2021
As they’re leaving, one of the disciples says, “Look, Teacher! Look at those large stones and buildings!” The historian Josephus said that the temple was covered with great plates of gold and glistened in the sun from a distance like a burning jewel. The temple was as tall as a 15 story building that could accommodate thousands of worshipers at a time. It was twice the size of the largest temple enclosure in Rome. It was truly impressive. So one of the disciples says, “Look, Teacher!” To which Jesus replies, “Do you see—do you see these great buildings?” Jesus does not just see what is and what was; he sees what is to come. And what is to come is the complete destruction of the temple about 40 years later.
Leading up to the destruction of the temple there are wars, earthquakes, and famines. And in the year AD 70, Roman troops invade Jerusalem, seize the temple, set it on fire, and the vast amounts of gold melt into the stone. The Roman soldiers turn every stone to harvest the gold. Not one stone is left on another. This passage is not about the end of the world but the end of the Temple in the year AD 70, about 40 years after Jesus’ prediction, his death, and his resurrection. This tragic and painful event will disperse the church and spread the Gospel. These birth pangs will lead to give birth to and grow the Kingdom of God—a new Temple not made by human hands. The cornerstone of this new Temple will be the crucified and risen Jesus Christ, the foundation laid by the prophets and the apostles, and you and I are the living stones. This Temple will never be destroyed. Jesus is not trying to cast a shadow over the disciples’ joy and wonder of those magnificent buildings. He is pointing to the impermanence of worldly greatness. He is also talking about the birth of something far greater that will have no end.
This is a great thing for us to gaze at and ponder on this stewardship Sunday. It is a lesson that First Saint Paul’s has had to learn many times in our 175 years. Our church building was destroyed in the Great Chicago Fire of 1871. We saved the church records and the wooden angel. But more importantly, we as a community of faith bonded together to rebuild and grow together as the people of God—the Temple of the Holy Spirit. We purchased a Jewish synagogue 39 years later in 1910. We changed buildings but we were the same church family. In 1970 we dedicated this building. In our 175th anniversary moment, it mentions that there was “no little amazement at the sparkling new church” when it was built. During the pandemic, I personally have grown in my love for the simple and profound beauty of this sacred space.
It may have been a bit unsettling or even alarming for the disciples to hear about the impermanence of the Temple—that what they were so in awe of could so easily come tumbling down. It reminds us that the people of God in Jerusalem were not owners of the temple nor was the temple something that they would enjoy forever. They were stewards of a temporal gift. The temple was there to point them toward a greater reality. This should be a humbling reminder for us not to be so caught up in our earthly achievements. The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod used to be the second largest church body in the city of Chicago. One hundred years ago, this was a very German Lutheran city. Today we are a small remnant—a shadowy reflection of a more glorious past. This is true across our whole nation. As the number of Americans have grown, not just Lutherans but the whole Christian Church has been in a steady decline—especially in Europe and the Americas. The only place the church has been growing is in Africa and Asia.
The real tragedy is when we are fixated on our self-preservation and the legacy of our institutions and not the proclamation of the Gospel and the Christian Church that has no walls, borders, or denominational structure—just Christ as our head. As the prophets say in the Old Testament, “The grass withers, the flower fades, but the Word of the Lord stands forever.” As Solomon prays at the dedication of the first Temple, “Will God indeed dwell on the earth? Even heaven and the highest heaven cannot contain you, much less this house that I have built!”
Jesus’ words about the impermanence of our human institutions should not lead us to despair but perspective. As we look at this beautiful masonry work around us with its gentle curves, sloping floors, and hypnotic pattern of empty spaces between the brick above the altar. It makes me think of the very uncommon array of sisters and brothers, each of us woven together with our own angles, drawing our our eyes to Word and Sacrament, with always room for more to join us. We should give thanks to God for such a gift. But we should also remember that we are stewards of something far more precious than gold, silver, stone, cedar, and Chicago common brick. We are stewards of the Good News that no earthly or spiritual power can take away. That is what we are supporting with our time, talent, and treasure—the work of the Kingdom. So we should not neglect coming together as the writer of Hebrews says. Even after the Great Chicago Fire of 1871, members gathered at our building’s charred remains to mourn their loss but also bind their prayers and hearts together in hope.
What binds us together is not the mortar of these bricks but the unconditional love of Triune God who created us, redeemed us, and sanctifies us. As Scripture says, “[we] are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s own people, to proclaim the mighty acts of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.” “He who promised is faithful.” God promises to give birth to us, prosper us, and preserve us through all calamities. The pain of our suffering is but the birth pangs to do something new and greater just as Jesus suffered, died, and rose again to make all things new. We give our time, talent, and treasure to God and to this church family—not to impress passers-by with our brickwork. We do so for the growth and nurture of the Kingdom. Our mission is not to make an architectural statement but to proclaim Christ, nurture faith, and to serve others. Here is the really humbling and exciting thing: God will do this with or without this building; but it is his joy and plan to do so through us and all our gifts.
No comments:
Post a Comment