Malachi 3:19-20 / 2 Thess 3:7-12 / Luke 21:5-19
In almost every kind of sport, strength and stamina are required.
Strength and stamina can only be achieved in one way, and that is by pushing the body, and the mind, when tiredness and fatigue set in.
Strength and stamina cannot be developed if we were to stop the moment we feel tired.
Of course, we need to stop when we feel exhausted, otherwise we might injure the body.
So, strength and stamina can be built and developed progressively and gradually.
In a way, it is like boiling water. The fire isn’t turned off just when the water is getting warm.
The fire is kept burning as the water gets warmer and warmer until the water reaches boiling point.
So it is with strength and stamina. We keep going when we are tired in order to increase strength and stamina, but at the same time being careful not to over-exert.
But all this requires time, because nothing happens quickly or instantly.
In fact, nature teaches us that growth and development requires time.
And nature also teaches us that growth and development comes about through challenges and difficulties.
Listening to the gospel passage can be rather challenging, difficult and even disturbing.
At first, Jesus predicted the destruction of the Temple, which was the most holy place for the People of God.
Then, He talks about the chaos of war and calamities.
And then, He talks about violence and persecution, but He also assures His protection to those who are faithful to Him.
And finally, Jesus urges us to have endurance so as to overcome the turmoil and tribulation.
But what Jesus said about the destruction of the Temple will leave a graphic image in our minds: Not a single stone will be left on another; everything will be destroyed.
The Temple was like a fortified city with high and thick walls. To breach a fortified city, the walls must first be broken through and then the destruction will begin.
The walls of the Temple brings to mind the tale of two walls.
The first is the walls of Jericho, the first city that blocked the Israelites when they entered into the Promised Land.
The fortified walls of Jericho were high and mighty, almost impossible to breach and break-through.
The Israelites turned to God for help, and they were told to march around the city for seven days.
Then on the seventh day, they were to blow trumpets and horns and God will make the way.
As much as it sounded nothing like a battle plan, the people obeyed.
And on the 7th day when the trumpets and horns were sounded, the mighty walls of Jericho simply crumbled and the city of Jericho was taken.
So, it can be said that the walls of Jericho fell by faith and not by force.
Marching on in faith and prayer requires endurance, but that will bring about the awesome power of God.
That is the first of the tale of the two walls.
The second is the Western Wall, or the Wailing Wall, which is a surviving remnant of the Temple of Jerusalem, that was destroyed by the Romans in 70AD.
A Jewish legend has it that when the Temple was being built, the work was divided among different sectors of the population.
The building of the Western Wall fell to the poor, and they worked hard to construct it, as they could not afford to hire labourers to do their work for them.
When the enemy destroyed the Temple, the angels descended from on high and spread their wings over the Wall, because God said: "This Wall, the work of the poor, shall never be destroyed."
The tale of these two walls tells us this. In the case of the walls of Jericho, it was by the simple act of faith and not by might of force that brought down the walls of Jericho.
As for the Western Wall, or Wailing Wall, it can be said that the simple and humble prayer of the poor will endure.
In life, there will be chaos, but with faith in God, out of chaos will come forth creation.
In life, there will be tribulation, but every tribulation has a revelation.
That revelation for us is that endurance will prevail over the chaos and turmoil.
The walls of pride and might will be broken down.
But the simple and humble prayer of those who endure in their faith in God will go up to heaven and bring forth God’s salvation.