Matthew 24:1 – Jesus left the temple and as he was walking away, his
disciples came to him to point out the temple buildings.
Have you ever been to a city with skyscrapers? New York,
Chicago, or Tokyo? What about the sheer walls of Zion Canyon? The Grand Canyon?
What about the cathedrals of Europe? Did they overwhelm you with their beauty? Were
you awed? Did you want to share that feeling with everyone you knew? I think
this is what the disciples were feeling looking at the temple buildings. They are
not pointing out the ordinariness of the buildings but rather their grandeur. The size
and the adornments of the temple awed the disciples by their own majesty and by
the majesty they pointed to: God’s.
We humans have a need for such awe and beauty in our lives. Recognizing
how small we are in relation to the redwoods of California is both humbling and
awe-inspiring. The temple in Jerusalem, being man-made, would have impressed
them as we are impressed by the pyramids of Mexico and Egypt. While living in
Chicago, I enjoyed the detailing of the older buildings I saw on my walks;
gargoyles, fruit trim, white brick set against red, brick patterns made by turning
them all different ways, colored tiles. The temple must have had such rich
details too. It’s human nature to create beauty in our environment in imitation
and honor of our creator. Without beauty – music, poetry, books, sculpture,
painting, plays, nature – our lives would feel narrow and lack joy. Beauty around
us opens our hearts to the beauty of God, the beauty of holiness.
All of creation is holy, whether it’s we or God doing the
creating. In this stressful, tense, gross time of 45 taking revenge on anyone
who ever told him no, taking time out to recognize the beauty around us or to
create beauty of our own is essential for our well-being. It may seem heartless
to take time for ourselves when others are suffering, but without wonder and
joy, we will be unable to fight for long. What’s happening in the US is nothing
new. It may be new to ‘white’ people, but it’s not new in the world. Jesus
lived in a country occupied by a foreign power, Rome. His world was crap, too. Yet,
the disciples saw the beauty of the temple and wanted to share it.
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