Devotional Reading from the Daily Common Lectionary: Luke 21: 5-19

Text: (Jesus said to the disciples as they admired the beauty and permanence of the Temple) “As for these things that you see, the days will come when not one stone will be left upon another; all will be thrown down.” (v. 6)

I slipped though a cautionary gate and step inside the old church. The windows were broken. The pews and chancel furniture were gone. Weather and neglect allowed to plaster and paint fall from the walls. It was a shell of its former glory, yet I could sense that it was a holy place, sanctified through years of prayer and sacrament.  And still, it would soon be gone.

Jesus words to the disciples reflected a reality that would ultimately contribute to His crucifixion. The things of this world, even the biggest and strongest and most beautiful, do not last forever. Eventually everything that we hold on so tightly in life will be in an estate sale or carried out with the trash. The grandest of monuments eventually weather and are forgotten before passing into dust.

So what is forever? Love. Only God’s love is eternal. Only the love that we give and receive live into eternity. So tell someone that you love them. Cut someone a little slack. Forgive the one who hurt you. Do not let yourself be captive to the Past or drawn to a Future that is not yet. Live in this Moment for this is the only true moment that we have. Maybe that is why the Present is precious.

Lord, this is a day that You have made. Let me be glad and rejoice in it. Teach me to love and to forgive and celebrate the present moment. And when this day draws to a close, grant to me a restful sleep. Amen.