Today’s Gospel passage is part of a conversation between Jesus and the apostles in the Temple. It began with the apostles walking through the city of Jerusalem and being amazed at the beauty of the Temple. They said to Jesus, “Look, teacher, what stones and what buildings!” (Mk 13:1) It is no wonder that they were in awe as they saw the Temple. The temple compound was one of the most magnificent structures known in the ancient world and the center of Jewish life for almost 1,000 years. 

So what did the apostles see that was so overwhelming in its beauty and grandeur? Josephus, the Jewish historian, documents that the temple was covered on the outside with gold plating, and when the sun shone it was blinding. Where there wasn’t gold, there were blocks of marble that were pure white. The stones used to build the temple were massive. The limestone blocks used in the retaining wall for the temple compound alone are enormous and can still be seen today. Some of them are 50 feet wide, 25 feet high, and 15 feet deep. 

Jesus responds to his closest followers with the disconcerting statement that not one of these stones would be left on a stone. In the eschatological discourse that followed, Jesus exhorted his disciples and the Church to have faith and to be obedient through the trials that confront them before Jesus’ return in power and glory. No one but the Father knows the precise time of the Second Coming.

This Gospel passage about the tribulation to come was particularly unsettling, and for us could even seem terrifying. For the apostles, whose lives with Jesus up to that time had been filled with teaching, healing the sick, and prayer, this may have seemed to them like a sharp turn in the road. When we hear this Gospel proclaimed we may wonder with alarm if we are seeing the signs of the end occurring in the world. 

Notice that Jesus didn’t advise his followers to be worried and terrified. He exhorted us to be vigilant, to watch, and to have faith. His words will not pass away, and he will return in glory to gather to himself those who have believed in him. 

I think it would be best to take our cue from Peter who wrote in his first letter: “Therefore, gird up the loins of your mind, live soberly, and set your hopes completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. Like obedient children, do not act in compliance with the desires of your former ignorance but, as he who called you is holy, be holy yourselves in every aspect of your conduct, for it is written, ‘Be holy because I [am] holy’” (1 Pt 1:13-16).

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Saint Sabas

Saint Sabas, born in Cappadocia, was a pivotal figure in early Eastern monasticism, renowned for his devout life of solitude and community leadership.
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