33^rd Sunday in Ordinary Time C.  November 18, 2007.  Our Lady of Grace 7:30. 11:30, 6PM.  Malachi 3: 19-20a, 2 Thessalonians 3: 7-12. Luke 2: 15-19.

The 1980 eruption of Mt. St. Helens in Washington State was one of the most spectacular natural disasters in U.S. history. It destroyed over 250 square miles of forest, flattening or burning much of it instantly.  Within two days the cloud of volcanic ash reached Colorado.  In the next few weeks the cloud of ash was found across the entire globe.  The north face of the mountain was blown away.  The land slide created by the eruption is the largest in recorded history, displacing 23 miles of surface area.   57 people were killed by the eruption.  An estimated 30, 000 animals living in the area died.   This devastating eruption of Mt. Saint Helens is a fact of history.  Many scientists predict an even more devastating eruption in the future.  It is possible to disagree with predictions.  It is foolish to disagree with the historical facts.

The 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake triggered a series of devastating tsunamis along the coast of the Indian Ocean, killing more than 225,000 people in eleven countries.  Millions of people lost their homes and billions of dollars of property was destroyed.   All of this happened with very little warning.

In the recent wild fires raging across southern California more than 1,300 homes were destroyed and 500,000 people were forced to move out of the area.  The cost of the fires will be well over a billion dollars.

We are all aware of the terrorist attack on 9/11 when more than 3000 people where killed.  We know too well the facts surrounding the collapse of the freeway bridge in Minneapolis.  All of these happenings took us by surprise.

The Temple was the center of life in Jerusalem.  While people were admiring this magnificent stone building with its expensive decorations Jesus said, “All that you see here – the days will come when there will not be left a stone upon another stone that will not be thrown down.”  Jesus was talking about the destruction of the Jewish Temple by the Romans in the year 70AD and the total destruction of the city of Jerusalem.   What Jesus predicted happened just 40 years later. The Jewish people were driven out of the Holy Land and persecutions against Christians broke out throughout the Roman Empire.

Jesus said, “Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom.  There will be powerful earthquakes, famines and plagues from place to place; and awesome sights and mighty signs will come from the sky.  They will seize you and persecute you … and you will be led before kings and governors because of my name…Do not be afraid because I will be with you to teach you and guide you… By your perseverance you will preserve your lives.”   Jesus told us not to be afraid even though the world we live in is a fragile one. Natural disasters happen and terrorists and other hate filled people are a real threat to every human being.  Some may be foolish enough to seek their security in the unstable world of nature and human beings.  Other people are wise enough to know that we have too little power over nature and over other people’s actions to find our deepest security in nature and the world around us.

The great apostle Paul said, “We hold this treasure in earthen vessels that the surpassing power may be of God and not from us.  We are afflicted in every way, but not constrained; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying about in the body the dying of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our body… Therefore, we are not discouraged; rather, although our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day.” (2 Corinthians 4: 7-10, 16-18)

This past week we celebrated the funeral of a very courageous woman.  Her husband died when he was 29 and left her with four children.  Her oldest child was nine and her youngest child was nine months when her husband died.  This woman’s world fell apart very unexpectedly. She raised four children alone, on a secretary’s salary.   Her children remember her as being a little angry with God – especially after she lost her second husband and her oldest son.  This wonderful woman never stopped going to church and she lived her life by the strength of her faith and the inner courage that filled her heart, not by the external circumstances and tragedies that surrounded her.

As we approach the end of another Church year Jesus reminds us that the world is fragile and that human beings are frail.  Jesus is not trying to scare us.  He wants to make us wise. Building our lives on material things and human relationships alone is very dangerous.  The externals of our world can disappear in an instant.  Our relationship with God is the only thing that makes our existence secure.  Courage and inner strength built on grace are more important than any other kind of insurance or retirement savings policy. When we are tempted to worship something other than God, Jesus says to us, “Do you see here – your richly decorated temple – days will come when there will not be left a stone upon another stone that will not be thrown down.”    For the wisdom not to be deceived into building on things that are passing away we give God thanks and praise.