In this final week of the year, Luke is at his best with this eschatological discourse. The images sound scary, yet when Luke speaks of the Temple, he has a much bigger message than the scary images. He starts his gospel text with the Temple and ends it in the Temple. Jesus and the Temple are at the center of his text.

Speaking of the Temple, Luke has in mind the sacrifice, the Priest, and the holiness of the place (the Altar). I made a pilgrimage to Rome during this Jubilee year. I was astonished at the beauty of these Basilicas and churches and the number of tourists and pilgrims. I couldn’t resist comparing with my simple churches in Uganda, where we have no tourists but only a significant number who come for prayer.

It is true that even though churches still stand in the Western world, the number of people visiting these churches for prayer has significantly declined. Let us not lose faith in such circumstances. We are called to always look beyond the simple beauty of the building and think of its significance. Jesus knew that the Temple at a certain time will be no more.

As we end the year, we note that life might not always be in its beautiful state. Sometimes terrifying things might happen, and we might be faced with conditions that put our faith to the test. It should be time then to think beyond physical beauty and spend more time with the holiness of the Temple through Christ in his sacraments.

Saint Paul instructs us to regard our bodies as the temples of the Holy Spirit and to understand that through baptism, we also participate in the noble priesthood of Christ. Let us therefore concentrate on the holiness of our bodies. May always be with him through adoration and reception of Holy Communion.

Let us pray:

Blessed are you, Lord and Father of our Savior Jesus Christ, present in the sacrifice of the Altar. May we love him more dearly and adore him more in his holy court. We ask this through Christ our Lord.