In our gospel passage, Jesus saying: “Not one stone will be left upon another; all will be thrown down,” was referring literally to the Jerusalem temple that the disciples were praising for its size and workmanship. He was anticipating the subsequent fall of Jerusalem in 70 C.E. when that temple was destroyed. The “Wailing Wall” in Jerusalem is all that remains today.

As so often in scripture, the Word may speak to us on different levels at different times in our lives, depending on what is going on in and around us. Today, let’s consider, for example, our persona as the temple edifice we present to the world. Our ego has been at work since before we can remember, carefully building this fortress to protect us from the slings and arrows of fortune that come our way. It has placed one stone at a time deep inside, fitted together to ward off our fears and anxieties, intended to make us invulnerable to the wounds of life.

That works well for a while, likely for the first half of life, perhaps even beyond. In the fullness of time, however, we experience “the beginnings of the birth pangs” Jesus mentions. We come to realize we are imprisoned in walls of our own making and that, to be free, we have to let go of our stones one by one, to open the passage for God’s healing light to shine through. Joy comes as we surrender ourselves to God’s transforming grace, as we are cleansed, made whole and holy, born anew in Love. We delight to find that not one stone has been left upon another, that our fortress which has outlived its usefulness has been thrown down, that we have become a new creation.