December 14, 2013

Matthew 24:1-14

The first two verses of Matthew 24 describe a moment when Jesus’ disciples point out to him the buildings of the temple. In the scripture, Matthew doesn’t say what the disciples find in the buildings but rather uses this image to introduce Jesus’ prediction of the destruction of the temple: “‘You see all these, do you not? Truly I tell you, not one stone will be left here upon another; all will be thrown down.’”

Before moving forward with my meditation on Matthew 24, I want to go back to the part about the disciples’ interest in the temple. Why do they focus on the buildings? Were they showing admiration for an amazing structure renowned for its beauty across the Roman Empire? Or was it because they were curious about Jesus’ thoughts on the temple as a power symbol of the Judean religious establishment? For someone like me who loves architectural design, especially of older buildings, I still wonder what the disciples were thinking about. In any case, it’s clear that Matthew doesn’t seem to care enough to satisfy my curiosity. He is more interested in Jesus predicting the future crumbling of the temple. The way in which Matthew tells the story is related to the point that Jesus is trying to make. Just as Jesus redirects the minds of his disciples, Matthew shifts the story from this scene at the foot of the temple to a completely different location, the Mount of Olives.

Matthew’s change of scene from the temple to a quiet place in the countryside, from the center to the periphery, reflects the same kind of move that Jesus requires of his disciples: He asks them not to believe in the certainty and credibility of things made or said by humankind, but to remain faithful to the promise of his word.

In the rest of Matthew’s story, Jesus continues to speak to his disciples on the Mount of Olives and warns them of the events to come. When the disciples ask Jesus for a sign of “[his] coming and of the end of the age,” he instructs them to remain faithful and not to become disoriented or misled in the coming era filled with social unrest, famine, persecution, war, and natural disaster. Here is where I think Matthew gets to the point of his story. To better understand Matthew, let’s forget for a minute all the apocalyptic images that, thanks to Hollywood movies and around-the-clock news coverage, so easily pop into our heads. In many ways, the catastrophe that Jesus predicts in the story and that continues to saturate our HD imagination has much to do with our fallible belief that the things that we create must last forever. In this way, Jesus shows his disciples that no human-made structure, claim, or idea is ever secure, complete, or final. Trying to cope with uncertainty through fixed structures or arguments might only lead us to division and mistrust in one another. Matthew ends his story by once again discouraging us from believing in the apparent certainty of the things we create. In verse 13, he moves us again to another place, that of faith, when Jesus reassures his disciples: “But anyone who endures to the end will be saved.” Endurance transforms us from passive onlookers to active faith practitioners.

“And this good news of the kingdom will be proclaimed through the world, as a testimony to all nations and the end will come.” Matthew 12:14

In this Advent season, let us celebrate and admire the material and natural wonders that feed our imagination, keeping in mind that they don’t last forever. And let us find joy in the enduring gifts of hope and faith.

- Esteban Loustaunau