“Once you have surrendered yourself, you make yourself
receptive. In receiving from God, you are perfected and completed.” ― Archbishop
Fulton J. Sheen,
Seven Words of
Jesus and Mary: Lessons from Cana and Calvary
Gospel
Text: (Lk
17:26-37)
Jesus said to his disciples:
“As it was in the days of Noah,
so it will be in the days of the Son of Man;
they were eating and drinking,
marrying and giving in marriage up to the day
that Noah entered the ark,
and the flood came and destroyed them all.
Similarly, as it was in the days of Lot:
they were eating, drinking, buying,
selling, planting, building;
on the day when Lot left Sodom,
fire and brimstone rained from the sky to destroy them all.
So it will be on the day the Son of Man is revealed.
On that day, someone who is on the housetop
and whose belongings are in the house
must not go down to get them,
and likewise one in the field
must not return to what was left behind.
Remember the wife of Lot.
Whoever seeks to preserve his life will lose it,
but whoever loses it will save it.
I tell you, on that night there will be two people in one bed;
one will be taken, the other left.
And there will be two women grinding meal together;
one will be taken, the other left.”
They said to him in reply, “Where, Lord?”
He said to them, “Where the body is,
there also the vultures will gather.”
“As it was in the days of Noah,
so it will be in the days of the Son of Man;
they were eating and drinking,
marrying and giving in marriage up to the day
that Noah entered the ark,
and the flood came and destroyed them all.
Similarly, as it was in the days of Lot:
they were eating, drinking, buying,
selling, planting, building;
on the day when Lot left Sodom,
fire and brimstone rained from the sky to destroy them all.
So it will be on the day the Son of Man is revealed.
On that day, someone who is on the housetop
and whose belongings are in the house
must not go down to get them,
and likewise one in the field
must not return to what was left behind.
Remember the wife of Lot.
Whoever seeks to preserve his life will lose it,
but whoever loses it will save it.
I tell you, on that night there will be two people in one bed;
one will be taken, the other left.
And there will be two women grinding meal together;
one will be taken, the other left.”
They said to him in reply, “Where, Lord?”
He said to them, “Where the body is,
there also the vultures will gather.”
If you think about it, we have enemies all over the world, it seems hard to believe that
persecution still exists today and we have groups like ISIS, who pledge daily
to “bring the war to us”. Then we have natural disasters and disease, as well
as life’s daily challenges. Embedded in all of this we are invited to “watch
and be ready” as we hold fast to our faith and trust in what can be
confusing times. Sadly, secularism has taken strong roots
in our society. The onslaught of innovation and ready availability of personal
goods and services makes us feel self-sufficient and devoid of God’s presence
in our lives. It is only when tragedy strikes that we are awakened from our
slumber to look at God amidst our “vale of tears”.
It is really very simple—St Luke in today’s gospel is reminding us
that we must not be fearful as long as we are mindfully living out Jesus’
teachings. We need to avoid being focused on our possessions, while not
actually bad, they can distract us and even block us from coming to know the
one true God.
Our Holy Father
Pope Francis reminds us when he says: «Christians are ultimately hopeful,
however, because at the end, Jesus makes a promise that is a guarantee of
victory: ‘Whoever gives his life will be born again’ (Lk 17:33)». This is a
truth that we can rely on!
And so we labor onwards in the journey of our lives in the sincere hope of meeting our God «on the day the Son of Man is revealed» (Lk 17:30).
And so we labor onwards in the journey of our lives in the sincere hope of meeting our God «on the day the Son of Man is revealed» (Lk 17:30).
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