When I think about hearing about a grand temple and I've been thinking about this a lot. I kind of think about what the Washington Cathedral looks like and then more recently I was talking with Father Chipper about a trip and I that Scott went on and we're driving on this interstate going over to see my husband's best friend from college and this enormous white temple appears out of the sky almost. It's huge enormous Mormon temple. So when I think about temples, I think about these grand structures. Those were some of the things that came to my mind because I like to visualize um my perception of things. But this was the first century as far as our gospel reading. And the temple was the center of you know Jewish religion, history and culture and even civic pride. It was a beautiful temple and one of the best in the region. And I can just imagine that everyone marveled at the grandeur of this temple. Uh it was so popular it was visited by many and of course it was visited with Jesus and his disciples. It was considered one of the holiest places of all of Israel. The disciples must have been in a state of awe when they when they were looking at the temple. And I think that people couldn't help but notice the temple and all of its fineries. The disciples and everyone else really paused in awe. And as they were noticing all of these things in the temple, Jesus was noticing all of them and what they were looking at. So Jesus says, "Take a good look at those enormous, beautiful stones. Notice this incredible masonry and how artistic it seems. And at the end of days, not one of these stones will be left upon the other. All will be thrown down. All will be thrown down. Really? Who invited this end of time Jesus? We can almost hear the disciples whispering to one another, "How can this be? This place is indestructible. It's a mighty fortress and it will last thousands and thousands of years. All will be thrown down. What happened to come to me with you who are weak, who has heavy laden hearts, and I will give you rest." Well, Buckle up your seat belts, good people of God, because as Father Chipper said, Advent is just around the corner and Jesus is at the wheel. Some of us would rather not hear that our possessions are short-lived, that they are temporary. We feel a sense of security with our belongings. I know I do. Love my home, my family, even our pets, our health, and our wealth. We don't want to lose our material status, but eventually we are going to pass and we're going to go to God with nothing material from our time here on earth. Everything that we build will stay here. The good news is what will go with us is what we have built in our spirits, what we have built in our hearts and in our souls. That's why the upcoming Advent readings are full of end of times. Our spiritual ancestors expected the end and they were anxious to know when all of this would go down. So, as Jesus forecasts the temple's destruction, the disciples also wonder, how do we live today when we don't know about tomorrow? That's where faith shows up. Faith is simply defined as our belief in God. I think the gospel writers must have agreed that the temple story of their temple story of being very important as Luke told it in today's gospel. They want to know when it will be. They want to know what the signs are. And Jesus's response is less than helpful to them. He tells them, "When you hear of wars and rumors of wars, don't be alarmed. It must take place." Well, thanks Jesus. We ask you when and you tell us all this bad stuff's going to happen. How do we live today when we don't know about tomorrow? Come on, Jesus. We all really want to know. I've got plans to make. My disciple friends have plans to make. How do we live in this present time when we don't know the future? Well, that's a complex reading and there's no easy answers. I think about easy answers and I think about that's a good bumper sticker. But our lives are a little more complicated. In the place of an easy answer, consider what Jesus offers to all of us. The per the profound truth is God is in charge. He's always been in charge. He calls us to love with all of our heart and to keep our faith. We don't know what comes tomorrow, but we do know God calls us to love our neighbors, to love our neighbors as ourselves, and to work passionately toward a just society and a loving community. How do we live in the present when we don't know the future? To partner with God. He's got a lot of work for us to do, and Sunday morning is just the start. There's work every day of the week. His revolution depends on all of us. Are you in? I believe so. And look at how Christ Church is showing up in the community. All the work that's being done. And it's a gentle, loving presence where all are welcome. We are growing and we're sharing the good news. And we are all role models of God's love. When we read today's story in the context of Luke's full gospel, Jesus drops the temple bomb right before setting out toward Jerusalem. All will be thrown down, he says, perhaps referencing his own death. Mortality is a serious subject, and talking about the end of times makes most of us a little uneasy. The story of Jesus's death and resurrection reframes mortality not as defeat but as transformation. Remember though that Jesus doesn't promise easy living. He doesn't say that the temple remains and that we avoid death or that pain goes away. But he does promise that God is with all of us to the very end. He is still in charge and we can trust in God even when we can't trust in anything else. So what do we do today when we don't know tomorrow? We trust what God is up to in our world, in our lives, and we keep our faith.', 'start': 1693.919, 'end': 2116.0, 'duration': 422.081
[00:28:13]
We invite God in and we draw strength from him. His love endures long after the cities and the buildings and the stones have crumbled. We adopt a posture that asks not what God can do for us but what he what we can do for God and get closer. We continue to love every neighbor as ourselves and pray pray. God doesn't live in this church building or in that temple. He doesn't just show up on Sundays. We must remember that God is in us. Every one of us. We are the temple and God's spirit dwells in us. Some of us often think of temples as grand structures, cathedrals of stone, stained glass, but we are the temple. Not someday, but right now. Not when we're perfect, but right now in our ordinary bodies, and for some of us messy lives, mine, to be in God's temple is not flawless. It is to be inhabited, to be dwell in his spirit, to carry holiness, not as a badge, but as a heartbeat, God's heartbeat. It is a place to be welcomed, a place to practice spiritual hospitality, and to make room for others.
[00:35:52]
Christian spirituality is about prioritizing all of our loves. Love of God, of our neighbors, of ourselves, and how about our enemies, too. Christian spirituality is the experience of a relationship with God through Jesus Christ. It's shaped by scripture, empowered by the Holy Spirit, and expressed in our daily lives through love, transformation, and purpose.
[00:37:24]
Sometimes many of us feel more like ruins than temples, cracked by grief, and weathered by life. But here is the truth. God does not dwell in perfection. He dwells in presence, and we are all on holy ground. So, let's let spirit continue to guide us and remember that we are all his temple one of gratitude grace and love and as chipper says counter blessings
[00:37:54]
I was grateful. I was so grateful that we got out over when we did because I don't know how we would have navigated through that. So, we felt a little stuck. We didn't know what tomorrow brought. We thought maybe a day or two we'd get back and then we started worrying about our friends, our animals, other people. Um, we heard about some terrible devastation in Buckton that same day. We started seeing some of the pictures coming in from that and we just we prayed. We prayed a lot and we tried to make the best of it. Um, we got out of that line when we learned it was there was no going back that day. We found a ratty hotel in Nag because we were exhausted emotionally.
[00:41:06]
And we watched crappy TV that night. It was almost like being in college. And we tried not to worry about tomorrow. And it really I was trying to think, gosh, this is this isn't a really big deal for some people, but it was a really big deal for me because I always thinking about tomorrow. I'm always thinking about ahead. I've always got another plan and there was no plan for that. So, what I can tell you is we made we made the best of that night and we thought we'll just go get back in line the next morning, which we did. And there was no news of anything opening up. Lines started forming again. Beautiful marina at the end of the road at the bridge. We went over, had a great meal. Oh, it was wonderful. So, we walked around and we looked at these big fishing boats and we tal we learned a lot about that area, the Coast Guard, the beginning of the Coast Guard, lives being saved. Um, fascinating, absolutely fascinating. Um, what people can do with God's help.
[00:42:03]
I thought about all those storms out there on the ocean. just mindboggling to me to be in a place that was so unfamiliar, but what was familiar is our faith and not knowing but knowing, if that makes sense. We knew we were going to be okay, but we had absolutely no itinerary. So, we made the best of it. Eventually we did get back thankfully and that was something else to see uh see that road but I couldn't help but spend all that time reflecting on a situation that could have been worse reflecting on my faith reflecting on the blessings the blessings that our friends went with us because originally they weren't they took care of our animals probably better than we do they took care of the camper I mean it was just it was a real mystery that was eventually solved.
[00:43:14]
But um a lot of time, a lot of opportunity for Scott and I to think about Jesus and his own life, his trials and his tribulations. And I don't see Jesus I don't see him worrying about tomorrow. I think he would say dying is a day worth living for.
[00:44:07]
Each sunrise is a gentle reminder that God has already gone before you. The worries of tomorrow are his to hold, but the blessings of today are yours to live. Take this day as his gift, a chance to love, to serve, and to shine his light. Don't let the fear of what's ahead steal the joy he has placed in this moment. He is faithful in every season and his grace is enough for today and his promises will meet all of us right on time tomorrow.
[00:44:29]
The profound truth is God is in charge. He's always been in charge. He calls us to love with all of our heart and to keep our faith. We don't know what comes tomorrow, but we do know God calls us to love our neighbors, to love our neighbors as ourselves, and to work passionately toward a just society and a loving community.
[00:33:10]
How do we live in the present when we don't know the future? To partner with God. He's got a lot of work for us to do, and Sunday morning is just the start. There's work every day of the week. His revolution depends on all of us. Are you in? I believe so.
[00:33:36]
Look at how Christ Church is showing up in the community. All the work that's being done. And it's a gentle, loving presence where all are welcome. We are growing and we're sharing the good news. And we are all role models of God's love.
[00:33:54]
The story of Jesus's death and resurrection reframes mortality not as defeat but as transformation. Remember though that Jesus doesn't promise easy living. He doesn't say that the temple remains and that we avoid death or that pain goes away. But he does promise that God is with all of us to the very end.
[00:34:34]
We must remember that God is in us. Every one of us. We are the temple and God's spirit dwells in us. Some of us often think of temples as grand structures, cathedrals of stone, stained glass, but we are the temple. Not someday, but right now. Not when we're perfect, but right now in our ordinary bodies, and for some of us messy lives, mine, to be in God's temple is not flawless.
[00:36:28]
God does not dwell in perfection. He dwells in presence, and we are all on holy ground. So, let's let spirit continue to guide us and remember that we are all his temple one of gratitude grace and love and as chipper says counter blessings
[00:37:54]
We knew we were going to be okay, but we had absolutely no itinerary. So, we made the best of it. Eventually we did get back thankfully and that was something else to see uh see that road but I couldn't help but spend all that time reflecting on a situation that could have been worse reflecting on my faith reflecting on the blessings the blessings that our friends went with us because originally they weren't they took care of our animals probably better than we do they took care of the camper I mean it was just it was a real mystery that was eventually solved.
[00:43:14]
