Jesus then left the Temple. As he walked away, his disciples pointed out how very impressive the Temple architecture was. Jesus said, "You’re not impressed by all this sheer size, are you? The truth of the matter is that there’s not a stone in that building that is not going to end up in a pile of rubble." Matthew 24:1-2 (TM)

I stood at the western wall in Jerusalem, also known as the wailing wall, and prayed. The hot sun beat down on me. I could feel the heat radiating off the stone. To my left and to my right were a myriad of others who had come to pray. The western wall is what’s left of the "impressive Temple architecture" after it had been destroyed and rebuilt twice. The final destruction, as Jesus predicted, happened about 40 years after he said these words.

As I stood at the wall and prayed, I was glad that the object of my worship, the focus of my faith is living and present. I don’t need to be at a temple to pray. I am the temple in which the Spirit of Christ dwells. I don’t have to visit a building to worship, and I certainly don’t need to weep at the rubble of my faith.

I prayed at the wall, though my prayer there was much like any other prayer I utter throughout each day of my life. I prayed that everyone might know the living Christ who can’t be contained in a building made with bricks and mortar.