Luke 21:5-19 (NRSV)               

5 When some were speaking about the temple, how it was adorned with beautiful stones and gifts dedicated to God, he said, 6 “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.”

7 They asked him, “Teacher, when will this be, and what will be the sign that this is about to take place?” 8 And he said, “Beware that you are not led astray, for many will come in my name and say, ‘I am he!’ and, ‘The time is near! ‘Do not go after them.

9 “When you hear of wars and insurrections, do not be terrified, for these things must take place first, but the end will not follow immediately.” 10 Then he said to them, “Nation will rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom; 11 there will be great earthquakes and in various places famines and plagues, and there will be dreadful portents and great signs from heaven.

12 “But before all this occurs, they will arrest you and persecute you; they will hand you over to synagogues and prisons, and you will be brought before kings and governors because of my name. 13 This will give you an opportunity to testify. 14 So make up your minds not to prepare your defense in advance, 15 for I will give you words[c] and a wisdom that none of your opponents will be able to withstand or contradict. 16 You will be betrayed even by parents and siblings, by relatives and friends, and they will put some of you to death. 17 You will be hated by all because of my name. 18 But not a hair of your head will perish. 19 By your endurance you will gain your souls.

19 The scribes and the chief priests tried to lay hands on him at that very hour, but they feared the people; for they perceived that he had told this parable against them. 20 So they watched him, and sent spies, who pretended to be sincere, that they might take hold of what he said, so as to deliver him up to the authority and jurisdiction of the governor. 21 They asked him, “Teacher, we know that you speak and teach rightly, and show no partiality, but truly teach the way of God. 22 Is it lawful for us to give tribute to Caesar, or not?” 23 But he perceived their craftiness, and said to them, 24 “Show me a coin.[a] Whose likeness and inscription has it?” They said, “Caesar’s.” 25 He said to them, “Then render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” 26 And they were not able in the presence of the people to catch him by what he said; but marveling at his answer they were silent.

 The Advent of Incarnation

I had never felt such searing pain.  I laid helpless as the flames grew higher around me, consuming my brittle skin in mere minutes and leaving my bones as charred wreckage in their wake; the little that wasn’t completely consumed collapsed before nightfall.   As I choked on the thick, toxic smoke that billowed out into the surrounding city, I was certain that my end had come.   Who could survive total devastation like this?  Many works of art and religious relics had been damaged or destroyed, and what once was a strong, beautiful, and awe-inspiring vaulted roof was left open to the sky.  After centuries of serving as a spiritual home to pilgrims from around the world and as the heart of the City of Light, I, the cathedral of Notre-Dame de Paris, could no longer even function as the most primitive of shelters. I closed my eyes and prayed as I waited for the fire to finish me forever.

But that wasn’t the end.  My vaulted stone ceiling largely prevented the burning wood roof structure from spreading to the interior of the sanctuary. While my famous vaulted arches were blackened by smoke, my beautiful stained-glass windows were left intact and my main cross and altar survived.  Hundreds of firefighters and other emergency workers had rushed to put out the flames and move valuable objects to safety.  The night of the fire, political leaders announced an international fundraising campaign to restore me to full health. In the days that followed, people from across the city gathered nearby to sing and pray.  These faithful people weren’t ready to let me go, and, like the savior in whose service I had stood for centuries, I wasn’t ready to let them go, either.

Over the next several years, stone masons, carpenters, and other artisans from all over the world came to help restore me to new glory. It was difficult, painstaking work but the craftspeople believed that, through their hands, I was destined for new life.  My historic bones remain, now polished brightly and reactivated with new altar furniture and refurbished pews.  A little over five years after that horrific day, I will be consecrated at an inaugural mass today, December 7, and reopened to the public tomorrow. 

On that day in 2019, if you had asked me to imagine a new future as the flames tore through my nave and my wood spire disintegrated into ash, I would never have envisioned the outpouring of love that would rebuild me so quickly, completely, and tenderly.  While I have been reconstructed with steel, stone, and wood, I have been strengthened by the faith that the first responders, benefactors, contractors had in my survival, and the hope that the people had in my resurrection.  I now understand how a new temple can emerge from unimaginable destruction.  I’m ready to serve Christ and his church for centuries to come.

The Rev. Lisa Chronister, St. John’s, OKC