What do we make of those apocalyptic texts? Those verses that tell of destruction and persecution, signs of the end times that include suffering and chaos? In this year when the word “unprecedented” peppers nearly every conversation, do these strange descriptions of pestilence and terror resonate more than they have in other chapters of our living history?

I am struck in this passage from Luke by Jesus’ unwillingness to let people admire the temple. He sees them marvel at its scope and beauty and refuses to allow them to believe it will stand forever. I wonder what he would say to those of us now unable to gather in our revered and sacred spaces. Would he remind us that such spaces, lovely and important as they are to our life of faith, are not ultimate? Could this time of our diaspora be a…