DAILY MASS READINGS 14th November, 2014 Friday of the Thirty-second Week in Ordinary Time Rosary: Sorrowful Mysteries Liturgical Colour: Green #1st Reading: 2 JOHN 1: 4-9 [Chosen Lady:] I rejoiced greatly to find some of your children walking in the truth just as we were commanded by the Father. But now, Lady, I ask you, not as though I were writing a new commandment but the one we have had from the beginning: let us love one another. For this is love, that we walk according to his commandments; this is the commandment, as you heard from the beginning, in which you should walk. Many deceivers have gone out into the world, those who do not acknowledge Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh; such is the deceitful one and the antichrist. Look to yourselves that you do not lose what we worked for but may receive a full recompense. Anyone who is so “progressive” as not to remain in the teaching of the Christ does not have God; whoever remains in the teaching has the Father and the Son. . . . The word of the Lord.... #Responsorial Psalm PS 119:1, 2, 10, 11, 17, 18. R. (1b) Blessed are they who follow the law of the Lord! Blessed are they whose way is blameless, who walk in the law of the LORD. R. Blessed are they who follow the law of the Lord! Blessed are they who observe his decrees, who seek him with all their heart. R. Blessed are they who follow the law of the Lord! With all my heart I seek you; let me not stray from your commands. R. Blessed are they who follow the law of the Lord! Within my heart I treasure your promise, that I may not sin against you. R. Blessed are they who follow the law of the Lord! Be good to your servant, that I may live and keep your words. R. Blessed are they who follow the law of the Lord! Open my eyes, that I may consider the wonders of your law. R. Blessed are they who follow the law of the Lord! #Gospel Acclamation: Hebrew 4:12 Alleluia, alleluia! The word of God is something alive and active: it can judge secret emotions and thoughts. Alleluia! Or Luke 21:28 Alleluia, alleluia! Stand erect, hold your heads high, because your liberation is near at hand. Alleluia! #Gospel: LUKE 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.” . . . The Gospel of the Lord.... One will be taken and the other left #Gospel: Luke 17:26-37 #Meditation: What can nature teach us about the return of the Lord Jesus on the day of final judgment at the end of the world? Jesus quoted a familiar proverb to his audience: Where the body is, there the eagles (or vultures) will be gathered together. Eagles, like vultures, are attracted to carrion - the carcass of dying or dead animals. The Book of Job describes the eagle spying out its prey from afar (Job 39:29). The eagles swoop to catch their prey when the conditions are right, especially if the prey is exposed and vulnerable to a surprise attack. Severely weakened or dying prey have no chance of warding off forces that can destroy and kill. Sign of the gathering eagles and vultures Whats the point of this analogy? Its inevitable that some life-threatening or life-changing event or cause will take place when the necessary conditions are fulfilled. The return of the Lord Jesus is certain, but the time is unknown. The Day of the Lords judgment and final verdict will come swiftly and unexpectedly. Jesus warns his listeners to not be caught off guard when that day arrives. It will surely come in Gods good time! Those we accept Jesus Christ as Lord will enter his everlasting kingdom What does Jesus mean when he says that one person will be taken and another left? God judges each person individually on how they have responded to his mercy and his gracious invitation to accept or reject his kingship - to either live as citizens or as enemies of his kingdom. We cannot pass off personal responsibility and accountability for how we have lived our lives to someone else, such as a close friend, spouse, or family member. No one can discharge his or her duty by proxy or by association with someone else. The good news is that God gives grace and help to all who seek him with faith and trust in his mercy. The Lord Jesus freely gives us his Holy Spirit so that we may have the wisdom, help, and strength we need to turn away from sin and to embrace Gods way of love, righteousness, and holiness. The Lords warning of judgment is a cause for dismay for those who have not heeded his warning and are now unprepared, but it brings joyful hope to those who eagerly anticipate the Lords return in glory. The choice we make now - for or against Christ - will determine our future destination on the day judgment Gods judgment and final verdict is good news for those who are ready to meet him. Their reward is God himself, the source and author of all that is good - truth, beauty, love, and everlasting life. The people in Noahs time ignored the Lords warning of impending judgment. They missed the boat, literally! Whose boat are you taking - the worlds boat to short-lived success and happiness or Gods boat to an eternal kingdom and bliss with him? Those whose hope is firmly anchored in heaven will not be disappointed when Gods judgment and verdict comes. They rejoice even now that they will see the Lord in his glory! Is your hope firmly placed in God and his kingdom? Lord Jesus Christ, I place all my hope in you because you have redeemed the world by your death on the cross and by your victory over the grave. Help me to never lose sight of the goal of heaven that I may live each day in joyful anticipation of your return in glory. -dailyscripture.net May the word of God bless and heal our hearts in Jesus name. Amen!!!
Posted on: Fri, 14 Nov 2014 06:24:01 +0000
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