Redemption in Demolition

Nov 26, 2015

http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/111915.cfm 

Jerusalem was ultimately destroyed. The desolation that Jesus described to the disciples took place. It actually happened. The total destruction probably took two years, according to different reports. From 70 to 72 A.D. Not one stone was left upon another. Something like a million Jews and Christians were in that city. That’s a lot of people in 70 A.D. They all had to leave. Thousands were killed, many trying to save the city. Others insisted on staying, because the temple resided there. They didn’t understand or accept that the temple had been moved to the hearts of men and women. That Gentiles and Jews were now grafted together as one constructed body. The old temple was destroyed. The buildings that surrounded it were knocked down. The entire city was demolished.

Demolition of a property is a lengthy, dusty business, especially when you want to preserve the shell of a building. It took one year for a crew to strip down a building Joanne and I are still working on. It’s been almost six years for us to rebuild it. It’s four stories tall. During the demolition, we took part after part out of the inside, careful not to have the exterior walls fall apart. We were trying to save it. We have another property, a small 800 square foot, two story house sat right in the middle of an absurdly large lot. That house, decrepit and poorly constructed in the first place, needed to come down. It took several months to remove stuff from the inside, including an asbestos floor, and then a demolition crew came along and took it down in one day. We didn’t want to save that one. We’re going to build three houses on the huge lot that the old house sat on. All three will probably get built in the time it took me to just demolish the interior of the four story building.

Relationships are a lot like buildings. Some come completely intact, all ready to go. Somebody has already done the work for us, and the commitment is an easy one to make. Other relationships take time. We have a lot of building to do, parts of our personality that we don’t want to repeat with new friends. Maybe we move to a completely new place and start all over.

Good friends often start out with nothing really in common, but somehow we’re drawn together as we find similar interests, coincidental histories, shared values, and familiar friends. The regularity of good relationships, where we meet several times a week, chat on the phone, help each other out, and are involved in projects goes a long way in cementing a bond with each other. It’s surprising how few people some of us have where we can say that, and yet how many people we know where we could develop very good friendships if the opportunity arose. If we would take the time.

Some of our relationships have fallen apart, though. Almost all of us could cite a relationship similar to the ones of Daniel, though hopefully not as dramatic. Friends we knew who tattled on us, built a case against us, conspired to identify us as not trustworthy, even criminal, or simply categorized us in a bigoted, blind way. Maybe we were guilty. Maybe we were innocent. Maybe we were like those who condemned Daniel, tattling, building a case, conspiring, and ultimately blind and bigoted. Maybe we have been the deceitful friend.

A relationship with God goes through similar ebbs and flows. Most of us try to be careful not to rain down the ire of the Creator, but alas, we do things where we put him in a sticky position. We know what his laws are. Those of us who are believers have no excuse for the things we do. Not really. We can look back on our innocent days, where we didn’t really know what we were doing. But not today.

We imagine in our worst moments being flung into a pit of lions. Sometimes just the look from someone we love, someone that we’ve hurt, can feel like that. Before we reach the bottom of the den of lions, we are overpowered and all our bones are crushed.

We even go so far, sometimes, as to imagine that the signs in the sun, the moon, and the stars convince us that God is truly ticked off. We sense that the nations on earth are in dismay. We are perplexed by the roaring of the seas, and the waves that crash into villages and wipe out coastal cities. We think we might even die of fright, in anticipation of what is coming upon the world.

Even though we are sinners. Even though we have felt both betrayed and been the betrayer, we are believers. So, how should we react to the demolition around us, in both property and relationships? How should we stand against such things?

Jesus said clearly, “When these signs begin to happen, stand erect, and raise your heads, because your redemption is at hand.”