They will not leave in you one stone upon another, because you did not know the time of your visitation

 Now as He drew near, He saw the city and wept over it, saying, "If you had known, even you, especially in this your day, the things that make for your peace!  But now they are hidden from your eyes.  For days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment around you, surround you and close you in on every side, and level you, and your children within you, to the ground; and they will not leave in you one stone upon another, because you did not know the time of your visitation."

Then He went into the temple and began to drive out those who bought and sold in it, saying to them, "It is written, 'My house is a house of prayer,' but you have made it a 'den of thieves.'"

And He was teaching daily in the temple.  But the chief priests, the scribes, and the leaders of the people sought to destroy Him, and were unable to do anything; for all the people were very attentive to hear Him.

- Luke 19:41-48

Yesterday we read that after Jesus had taught the parable of the minas, He went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem.  And it came to pass, when He drew near to Bethphage and Bethany, at the mountain called Olivet, that He sent two of His disciples, saying, "Go into the village opposite you, where as you enter you will find a colt tied, on which no one has ever sat.  Loose it and bring it here.  And if anyone asks you, 'Why are you loosing it?' thus you shall say to him, 'Because the Lord has need of it.'"  So those who were sent went their way and found it just as He had said to them.  But as they were loosing the colt, the owners of it said to them, "Why are you loosing the colt?" And they said, "The Lord has need of him."  Then they brought him to Jesus.  And they threw their own clothes on the colt, and they set Jesus on him.  And as He went, many spread their clothes on the road.  Then, as He was now drawing near the descent of the Mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works they had seen, saying:  "'Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the LORD!'  Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!"  And some of the Pharisees called to Him from the crowd, "Teacher, rebuke Your disciples."  But He answered and said to them, "I tell you that if these should keep silent, the stones would immediately cry out."

 Now as He drew near, He saw the city and wept over it, saying, "If you had known, even you, especially in this your day, the things that make for your peace!  But now they are hidden from your eyes."  My study bible says that Jerusalem means "foundation of peace."  This is a peace that comes from faith in the truth He offers.  Christ has come to gather all to Him, in a kind of unity that brings peace and strength, like stones that might cry out in faith (see yesterday's reading, above).  This is the kind of peace that his hidden from a city that will soon reject Him, rebelling against its Savior, the Messiah who was sent to it.

"For days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment around you, surround you and close you in on every side, and level you, and your children within you, to the ground; and they will not leave in you one stone upon another, because you did not know the time of your visitation."  The destruction that came to Jerusalem about which Jesus speaks here occurred in AD 70.  My study bible says that this also describes the spiritual end of every person who lacks faith.  Quite literally, nearly all the stones of the buildings -- especially the great an holy temple -- were toppled one from another, as the Roman army sought the gold that was rumored to have been laid between the great stones.  Only a retaining wall was left, now called the Western Wall, long referred to as the Wailing Wall.  We notice again the theme of stones, voiced by Jesus in yesterday's reading.  Here the stones being displaced from one another offer an entirely contrasting image to the stones that would cry out if the "children" welcoming Him were silenced.  Here the image of the stones is one of chaos and disarray, the opposite of peace.  That is the failure to be gathered to Him, and literally scattered instead.

Then He went into the temple and began to drive out those who bought and sold in it, saying to them, "It is written, 'My house is a house of prayer,' but you have made it a 'den of thieves.'"  Jesus' first act is to go into the temple itself, which is the house of God, where God's presence is supposed to be.  Jesus quotes from two prophecies:  Isaiah 56:7 and Jeremiah 7:11.  Jesus quite literally scatters those who bought and sold in the temple.  They are not "like Him."  They are trading in live animals to be used in sacrifices, profiting from the people who come for the festival and wish to make a good prayer or sacrificial offering, whatever they can afford.  It is a "worldly" pursuit in the midst of the house of prayer for all the nations.

And He was teaching daily in the temple.  But the chief priests, the scribes, and the leaders of the people sought to destroy Him, and were unable to do anything; for all the people were very attentive to hear Him.  There are those in the leadership who seek to destroy Christ, but the people know they are hearing what is truthful; they all want to have access to what He is offering them.

The images of scattering and gathering are very prominent in today's reading.  They coincide with the image given of the stones that would cry out in yesterday's reading, and also the stones that form the structures of the city of Jerusalem, especially those of the temple, that will not be left with one laid atop another.  Destruction is a prominent theme.  The leaders of the people lead the people astray by seeking to destroy Christ.  They bring upon the city that which they seek to bring upon Him.  The image underlying all these things is a theme that is clear:  He who gathers is being destroyed, and therefore destruction and scattering the result.  The Siege of Jerusalem will be pure chaos, and violation of the sanctity of the temple (what is called "the abomination of desolation," from the prophecy of Daniel).  But the temple is already being violated in certain ways under the auspices of the leadership, in the buying and selling and money exchanging going on around the sale of animals for sacrifice.  We are reminded of Jesus' recent teaching:  "He who is faithful in what is least is faithful also in much; and he who is unjust in what is least is unjust also in much" (Luke 16:10), and from the same reading: "You cannot serve God and mammon."  Faith asks us to be on a journey somewhere.  It doesn't mean we don't falter.  It doesn't mean we don't encounter obstacles and difficulties all along the way.  But it does mean that we have an object of that faith, a door or gate we reach toward, the Person who is Truth whom we seek in relationship and from whom we gather our own true nature.  If we seek Him in the small we will also be seeking in what is "much."  This is our peace and our unity, even the true inner unity of faith and wholeness of body, soul, and spirit that constitutes true healing.  He offers a choice, and we always have to answer the question for ourselves of what that will be.

Then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory

"But when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then know that its desolation is near. Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains, let those who are in the midst of her depart, and let not those who are in the country enter her. For these are the days of vengeance, that all things which are written may be fulfilled. But woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days! For there will be great distress in the land and wrath upon this people. And they will fall by the edge of the sword, and be led away captive into all nations. And Jerusalem will be trampled by Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.

"And there will be signs in the sun, in the moon, and in the stars, and on the earth distress of nations, with perplexity, the sea and the waves roaring; men's heart's failing them from fear and the expectation of those things which are coming on the earth, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken. Then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. Now when these things begin to happen, look up and lift up your heads, because your redemption draws near."

- Luke 21:20-28

In yesterday's reading, we read of Jesus' predictions both for the destruction of Jerusalem (and the temple) and of the end of the age. He warned against following false prophets, and told of wars and great calamities such as earthquakes and famines. But before that, He said, would come betrayal and persecution -- all of which will become an occasion for testimony, for witnessing. They are not to think ahead what to say, for in that moment He will give them wisdom and speech. Today, He continues this discussion. See By your patience possess your souls.

"But when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then know that its desolation is near. Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains, let those who are in the midst of her depart, and let not those who are in the country enter her. For these are the days of vengeance, that all things which are written may be fulfilled. But woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days! For there will be great distress in the land and wrath upon this people. And they will fall by the edge of the sword, and be led away captive into all nations. And Jerusalem will be trampled by Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled." This is such a vivid and fearful description! Even now, 2000 (or so) years later on, when we know all of history, it is shocking and frightening to think about. It is a prediction of the siege and capture of Jerusalem which was to happen in A.D. 70 by Titus, the son of the Emperor Vespasian. The temple was completely destroyed, as it was believed that gold was hidden between its stones. We note the phrase, "until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled" and can only wonder what this truly means.

"And there will be signs in the sun, in the moon, and in the stars, and on the earth distress of nations, with perplexity, the sea and the waves roaring; men's heart's failing them from fear and the expectation of those things which are coming on the earth, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken. Then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. Now when these things begin to happen, look up and lift up your heads, because your redemption draws near." As in yesterday's reading, the discussion of the destruction of the temple and the siege of Jerusalem is combined with a discussion of the end of the age. The two events are truly linked in spiritual terms, because the coming of the Messiah is linked to both in a cosmic sense. The temple is destroyed, but Church becomes the Body of Christ, shaped by the anointing of the Spirit. And the age initiated is the time of preparation for Judgment, the time of witnessing. But here in these verses we read of the end of the age. Perhaps there were many who felt, because of this prediction, that the end of the age was imminent in the early beginnings of the Church. When it did not happen, true to the warnings, false prophets did appear. But St. Peter was not fooled, as he wrote (referring to Psalm 90:4): "But do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance. But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed." My study bible quotes here from The Venerable Bede: "It is clear to all who love His coming that the mind must be controlled rather moderately in this conjecture. We must surmise neither that the aforesaid day of the Lord is near and will come quite quickly, nor again that it is coming too slowly. But we should be diligent in seeing to this alone: that whether it comes sooner or later, it may find us ready when it does come." And this is truly the point, isn't it? That we are to live day by day with what is at hand for us to be about, in "Our Father's business." And in this is our preparation, that which is before us to do, in the here and now.

We also remember Peter's understanding and insightful words: that the timing of such events ultimately has to do with the love and the mercy of God. Time is a gift to us to learn, to grow, to change what we need to change, to come to repentance in the love of God and grow in that likeness. So, how do we take Jesus' words to heart? We live in the here and now, practicing as best we can the mindfulness of our faith and that we are called to be "like Him." It is this that prepares us for "that day" and nothing else. So, what is before us right now? How do you grow in His likeness today, and commit to that awareness each day, each hour, now? Jesus' power and glory are with us even now through the grace of the Spirit, and He calls us to His teachings; it's as close as your breath, your heart.