ReBuilding
Things don't last forever.
When some were speaking about the temple, how it was adorned with beautiful stones and gifts dedicated to God, he said, "As for these things that you see, the days will come when not one stone will be left upon another; all will be thrown down." They asked him, "Teacher, when will this be, and what will be the sign that this is about to take place?" And he said, "Beware that you are not led astray; for many will come in my name and say, 'I am he!' and, 'The time is near!' Do not go after them. "When you hear of wars and insurrections, do not be terrified; for these things must take place first, but the end will not follow immediately." Then he said to them, "Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; there will be great earthquakes, and in various places famines and plagues; and there will be dreadful portents and great signs from heaven. "But before all this occurs, they will arrest you and persecute you; they will hand you over to synagogues and prisons, and you will be brought before kings and governors because of my name. This will give you an opportunity to testify. So make up your minds not to prepare your defense in advance; for I will give you words and a wisdom that none of your opponents will be able to withstand or contradict. You will be betrayed even by parents and brothers, by relatives and friends; and they will put some of you to death. You will be hated by all because of my name. But not a hair of your head will perish. By your endurance you will gain your souls. - Luke 21:5-19
Time changes our world.
Something happens that brings about destruction of something we treasure, and it causes us to want to get back what we lost.
We want to resurrect what was demolished. We want to rebuild.
What we see as a loss, though, could be seen as an opportunity for change.
When the Temple is destroyed and the people are dispersed, they set up a new system of synagogues to keep the community of faith connected.
They would probably never stop mourning the loss of the Temple, but they could now praise God for helping them discover a new approach, one that enables them to spread the faith far and wide.
The same may be true for our failing churches today.
The buildings may have become burdens and the people may have dispersed or left completely, but the faith isn't dead.
We also have the impact of the pandemic, which caused people to scatter, jobs to change or disappear, and new opportunities to arise.
If we focus on what is lost and fail to see what is gained, we remain in mourning and despair.
The natural response to disaster is to want to rebuild, to go back. But maybe, sometimes, the right thing to do is move on.
More to come...