In this Friendly Word, Friar Luciano Audisio invites us to read the Gospel from a key of hope: when our structures, certainties or securities are shaken, it is then that God’s fidelity shines more brightly.
A temple that crumbles… and a heart that reveals itself
Today’s Gospel confronts us with a profound crisis. Jesus, contemplating the temple in Jerusalem – that majestic work that represented the pride and identity of the people – pronounces some shocking words:
“Of this you see, there shall not be left one stone upon another that shall not be destroyed.”
It is not just a prophecy about the end of the temple; it is a revelation about the human heart.
We all, in some way, build temples: images of security, structures where we believe we find stability, certainties that make us feel that everything is under control. They can be institutions, successes, roles or even religious forms that give us identity. But Jesus warns us: everything that is not grounded in God’s faithfulness will eventually fall.
Jesus does not destroy: he purifies. He invites us to look beyond appearances to discover the only thing that remains: his faithful love and his promise that does not fail.
The question born of fear: how to defend ourselves from loss?
The disciples, restless, ask questions:
“When will this happen, what will the signal be?”
It is the same question of the human heart that fears to lose control: What do I do not to suffer, how do I hold on when something collapses?
But Jesus does not respond with reassuring signs. He prepares us for the spoiling, for the time when many things will fall. many things will fall.
We too are living in a time when many securities are falling: in the Church, in society, in our personal lives.
Christ teaches us to look at these collapses not as failures, but as kairos. kairosa time of grace in which we can again place our hope in the One who does not pass away.
Not all voices saying “I am” come from Christ
In the midst of fragility, Jesus warns:
“Many shall come in my name, saying, I am, and the time is at hand.”
Today there are also voices that present themselves as saviors, easy speeches that promise immediate solutions without a cross, without waiting, without conversion.
The Gospel calls us to discernment: not every religious voice is the voice of the Lord.
Only he who abides in love, truth and humility can truly speak in His name.
The crisis that goes through the heart
Jesus goes further:
“You will be brought before kings and governors for my name’s sake.”
Here the crisis ceases to be external and becomes intimate. Faith becomes decision, testimony, surrender. It is no longer comfort, but fidelity.
But Jesus promises:
“I will give you words and wisdom.”
We are not alone in trial. His Spirit sustains us, even when our strength falters.
The crisis as a school of hope
This Gospel is not a proclamation of misfortune, but a school of hope. a school of hope. To be witnesses – to be martyrs – is not to seek suffering, but to allow the Holy Spirit to transform our fragility into fidelity. When everything collapses, love remains. And love is Christ, the foundation that does not fall.
True freedom
The crisis leads us to true freedom: the freedom of those who are not afraid of losing everything because they have found what is essential.
Like St. Paul:
“Nothing will be able to separate us from the love of God manifested in Christ Jesus.”
May this Word teach us to look with faith at the times in which we live. If our securities crumble, if the Church goes through moments of purification, if our life experiences losses… let us not be afraid: it is the Lord who leads us.
Among the ruins of our false securities, may the living stone that never crumbles shine forth: Christ, our hope.