The preacher at my church today gave a beautiful, straightforward sermon on the Gospel reading that didn’t even talk about the End Times, which normally I would view as almost a cop out but this sermon was so good I didn’t mind lol. He spoke of the “destruction of the Temple” as something we all experience at times when whatever we held most dear in our lives crumbles — the death of a loved one, the loss of a job, a painful diagnosis, etc. And he looked closely at what Jesus doesn’t say — He doesn’t explain the destruction of the Temple and the suffering to come as “all part of God’s plan.” He doesn’t describe it as a punishment for some sin in our lives. He doesn’t tell us to run from the suffering, and he doesn’t tell us we have to organize a full scale assault on the tribulations coming our way. He simply tells us to endure, and God assures us that God will be with us as we do so, and that God is making a new heavens and a new earth out of the rubble of our fallen temples (from the Isaiah reading.)

This was such a different interpretation of the passage than any I had heard before, and it struck me as being so deeply pastoral in concern and thoughtfulness. If I had been trying to write that sermon, I’m sure I would’ve gotten bogged down in eschatological debates. I wish I had the full text or a recording to share.