I stood in line at a wake last week, watching the parents of a young man in his 30s try to cope with his death. He had struggled with drugs for a good number of years during his young life. And finally, he just couldn’t manage it.

Here’s a scenario: You have plans to visit an historic site in the Middle East — pick one — since the cradle of Christianity began rocking there centuries ago. Now, picture yourself stranded …

The setting of this Sunday’s Gospel reading is Jerusalem. Jesus is sitting in an outer court of the temple. He and those with him were watching people drop contributions in chests set up to receive them.