Faith Daily | 23 November 2021

PRAYER of the DAY - COLLECT PRAYER FOR THE WEEK BEFORE ADVENT

Stir up, we pray you, O Lord,

the wills of your faithful people,

that they, plenteously bringing forth the fruit of good works,

may by you be plenteously rewarded;

through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Amen.

GOSPEL for the Day: Luke 21: 5-11

5 When some were speaking about the temple, how it was adorned with beautiful stones and gifts dedicated to God, he said, 6‘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.’

7 They asked him, ‘Teacher, when will this be, and what will be the sign that this is about to take place?’ 8And 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.

9 ‘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.’ 10Then he said to them, ‘Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; 11there will be great earthquakes, and in various places famines and plagues; and there will be dreadful portents and great signs from heaven.

GOSPEL Reflection: Contributed by: Anne MacRonald

This part of Lukes gospel speaks of the people commenting on the beauty of the temple, the precious stones and the gifts dedicated to God. The temple was built to honour God but there were many who didn’t see beyond its surface.

Jesus warned these people that a time would come when the temple and its beauty would be destroyed.

It is very easy to be distracted by a superficial beauty. As a traveller I have stood in awe when visiting the amazing churches of the world built over the centuries to the beauty of God. Years ago I stood in the Panama Cathedral with its glorious solid gold interiors . Then on the steps outside were the beggars dying of hunger .When our holy sites become a tourist mecca do they risk becoming bereft of their true meaning.

2000 years ago Jesus recognised that there would claims and distractions on our attention which would lead us astray. Today in our even more complex computer age we have more to distract us.

Many of the events spoken by Jesus in this gospel have happened over the generations. The last two years though full of tragedy continue to show the resiliance of the human spirit.

Jesus encourages us to seek what is good and loving and to seek what will last.

That is my prayer. Amen.