Just imagine what it must have felt like when everyone was admiring the fantastic beauty of the Temple in Jerusalem and Jesus said, "All these things you are now staring at – the time will come when not a single stone will be left on another; everything will be destroyed." They must have thought he was a real miserable spoilsport, but years later when it actually happened what a blessing it was to remember him saying, "Don't worry, this is not the end of everything."
This weekend we honour those who have sacrificed their lives in wars in our own time. When you see the violence and evil and suffering that is taking place in different parts of the world, you may wonder if God has completely abandoned us. And that is precisely why Jesus gave us the warning. He never explained suffering. He came and shared our suffering, but never explained it. Only a fool would try to explain why so much goes wrong in the world, whether from natural causes or from the evil of men and women. If God loves us so much, how can God allow all this to happen? No explanation. Jesus came to share it but never explained. He simply assured us that this is not the end of the story. "I have told you all this so that you may find peace in me. In the world you will have trouble but the brave; I have conquered the world."
Fr. Michael Barrow, S.J.
