letting go of god’s gifts

one

The Destruction of the Temple Foretold

One day, while Jesus was leaving the temple, his disciples pointed out to him the temple’s beauty, the elegance and impressiveness of the structure and the stones that had been used to decorate it.

It was a glorious temple, both in the days of Solomon and in the days of Herod. It was a monumental sign of the Jewish identity, and apart from religion and their sacred writings, was the greatest cultural achievement the Chosen people could boast.

But the Lord responds to their enthusiasm with a dire prediction. He says, “Do you see all these wonderful things? I tell you, the day is coming when not one stone will be left on another; they will all be thrown down.”

Why does the Lord feel the need to rain on their parade? Why does He have to dampen their enthusiasm about their beautiful temple? Because even though the temple was a good thing, it was going to be taken away. And the Jews needed to be ready to let go of it, so they could receive something greater.

two

What the Jews Prized

The Jews, who were the custodians of the one, true religion – they were the people who worshipped the One, True God – they had a lot of good things to celebrate. They had their temple; the Mosaic law and their ritual; their land; and their nation, even though it was under foreign rule, was still intact.

And all these things were gifts from God. The Lord God had sanctified their temple. He had given them the Mosaic Law. He had cultivated them as a special nation and led them to their land – once out of Egypt and again out of Babylon.

But all those things were supposed to be geared towards salvation in Jesus Christ – they were supposed to pathways to a relationship with God, not substitutes for a relationship with God.

Yet when God came, He was rejected by His own. He was rejected because He had not come to liberate their land or their nation from Rome. He had not come to make their ethnicity dominant over the world. He came to give them Himself. He came to share His divinity with them and make them heirs to a kingdom that would never end. And those Jews who rejected Jesus would see their temple destroyed, their nation dissolved, and their land lost.

three

God gives us so many good things:

Education and professions; businesses and achievements; a spouse, kids, and grandkids; intelligence, physical strength and beauty…And we try to find our identity, self-worth, happiness and security in these.

But God wants to give you so much more! He wants to give you Himself. And the more God wants to give, the more he empties you to fill you with himself.

St. John of the Cross writes: “The immense blessings of God can only enter and fit into an empty and solitary heart.”

Our danger, like that of the Jews at the time of Jesus, is to be more attached to God’s gifts than we are to God.

four

God takes them all away – only to give better things

Think of all the worldly gifts you have now. And realize that they will all be taken away. As you get older, you will lose your Capacity for bodily pleasure, your looks, the nimbleness and flexibility of your mind, your influence and reputation with other people. And finally, you’ll lose your capacity even to move your body.

That’s okay because the only time God takes away gifts is to give us greater gifts. Yes, He was going to be taking away the temple – forever – but He was giving the world something greater. The body of Jesus is the Temple of God. And when you receive the Body of Jesus at Mass you become the Temple of God.

He will take away some of the goods of this life. But only to prepare us for the joys of heaven. The key thing is not to cling to the temporary goods and lose the eternal ones. We don’t want to spend all our time mourning over what is lesser, when we could be celebrating what is greater.

five

Not fearing for the future – but looking to the supreme good

The way to not fear loss in the future, the way to not become too attached to the things we know we can’t hold on to. The only way to do this is to cultivate a desire for God. Whenever God gives us some delightful, earthly good, we can say to the Lord, “Thank you! This is lovely. I’ll really enjoy this.  But it isn’t You – and it won’t satisfy me, and it won’t last forever. So please give me Yourself.”

The temple was lovely. But it was never supposed to last forever. And this life, and our bodies, and our activities – they’re all lovely. But they’re not supposed to last forever. What is supremely lovely is God, and the Church triumphant. The music and the celebration and the peace and the glory of Heaven. That is lovely. That lasts forever.

The more eager we are to get there, the less we’ll worry about letting go of things down here. The less fear, the less resentment. The less difficulty embracing the Perfect Happiness we were made for.