Malachi 3:19-20 / 2 Thess 3:7-12 / Luke 21:5-19
Whatever we may remember of our history lessons in school, we may remember this one fascinating topic.
It is about the 7 wonders of the ancient world. It may not be that fascinating to us in the modern world, but it was surely fascinating enough to the people in the ancient world.
We may remember vaguely what were the 7 wonders of the ancient world. The classic seven wonders were: the Great Pyramid of Giza; the Hanging Gardens of Babylon; the Statue of Zeus at Olympia; the Temple of Artemis at Ephesus; the Mausoleum at Halicarnassus; Colossus of Rhodes; Lighthouse of Alexandria.
The 7 Wonders of the Ancient World is the first known list of the most remarkable creations of classical antiquity; it was based on guidebooks popular among the ancient sightseers and only includes works located around the Mediterranean rim. The number seven was chosen because the Greeks believed it represented perfection and plenty, and because it was the number of the five planets known anciently, plus the sun and moon.
But time and tide had taken their toll on those ancient seven wonders and they have succumbed under the ravages of earthquakes, fire and the elements of nature, such that all have perished, leaving behind some ruins and records of their former existence.
But there is one that is still standing to this day. The only ancient world wonder that still exists is the Great Pyramid of Giza in Egypt. It is the oldest of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, and the only one to remain largely intact.
Built around 2560 BC as a tomb for the pharaoh, it is a remarkable engineering feat, and it remained the tallest man-made structure in the world for over 3,800 years.
One structure that could have made it to the list of the 7 wonders of the ancient world was the Temple that king Solomon built in 850 BC. That Temple was impressive because of the amount of gold that was used to decorate it and it was often called the 8th wonder of the ancient world.
That Temple was destroyed in 586 BC but another Temple was later built on the same site. That Temple was the one that the gospel was referring to. It was a remarkable Temple with fine stonework.
And yet Jesus had this to say about it: All these things that you are staring at now – the time will come when not a single stone will be left on another: everything will be destroyed.
And indeed, that Temple was destroyed by the Romans in 70 AD, and the only thing that remained was the retaining wall which is now called the Western Wall, aka the Wailing Wall.
Certainly, when something that we are proud of and precious to us is destroyed or broken, we will be really sad and will even wail about it.
And Jesus does not seem to very consoling as He hammers in the hard and stark truth that all things will pass with time. Still, we grapple and struggle to understand that truth.
There is this story about a monastery in the outskirts of a village.
News came that invading troops were plundering the other nearby villages.
The abbot and his monks urged the villagers to flee to the mountains to save their lives.
But the villagers wanted to stay and fight the enemy.
The abbot and the monks had no choice but to leave and take refuge in the safety of the nearby mountains.
From there, they watched the enemy troops coming and plundering the village.
As they watched the carnage that was happening, the abbot said: I wish I were God.
His monks asked: So that you can stop that tragedy?
The abbot replied: No, so that I know why that is happening. So that I can understand why that is happening.
Yes, we wish we can understand as we wonder about what is happening around us as we see the death and sickness, poverty and hunger, plagues and famine, wars and natural disasters.
We see bad things happening to good people, evil being returned for good, and we wonder if God sees, if God knows what is happening.
But God may also be asking us if we can really see and really understand what is happening around us.
A group of students were asked to list what they thought were the present "Seven Wonders of the World." Though there were some disagreements, the following received the most votes: Egypt's Great Pyramids; the Taj Mahal; the Grand Canyon; the Panama Canal; the Empire State Building; St. Peter's Basilica and China's Great Wall.
While gathering the votes, the teacher noted that one student had not finished her paper yet. So she asked the girl if she was having trouble with her list.
The girl replied, "Yes, a little. I couldn't quite make up my mind because there were so many."
The teacher said, "Well, tell us what you have, and maybe we can help."
The girl hesitated, then read, "I think the 'Seven Wonders of the World' are: 1. to see; 2. to hear; 3. to touch; 4. to taste; 5. to feel; 6. to laugh; 7. and to love."
The room was so quiet you could have heard a pin drop. The things we overlook as simple and ordinary and that we take for granted are truly wondrous!
So even as Jesus reminds us that all things will pass, He also reminds us that our faith will help us endure and eventually win us our lives.
The 7 wonders of the ancient world have passed and only one is still remaining. The wonders of our present world will also pass along with time, and with that we too will pass.
But the most precious and wonderful things in life cannot be built by hand or bought by man.
To see, to hear, to touch, to taste, to feel, to laugh and to love are indeed wonderful. Let us wonder at these and we will realise how wonderful God is and how wonderful He wants our lives to be.