Luke 17: 26-37 Just as it was in the days of Noah, so too it will be in the days of the Son of Man. They were eating and drinking, and marrying and being given in marriage, until the day Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed all of them. Likewise, just as it was in the days of Lot: they were eating and drinking, buying and selling, planting and building, but on the day that Lot left Sodom, it rained fire and sulfur from heaven and destroyed all of them—it will be like that on the day that the Son of Man is revealed. On that day, anyone on the housetop who has belongings in the house must not come down to take them away; and likewise anyone in the field must not turn back. Remember Lot’s wife. Those who try to make their life secure will lose it, but those who lose their life will keep it. I tell you, on that night there will be two in one bed; one will be taken and the other left. There will be two women grinding meal together; one will be taken and the other left.” Then they asked him, “Where, Lord?” He said to them, “Where the corpse is, there the vultures will gather.” New Revised Standard Version, copyright 1989, by the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved. USCCB approved usccb.org/bible/approved-translations Be Prepared Anyone who has participated in Boy or Girl Scouts knows the motto: “be prepared.” For Scouts this means being ready in mind and body to do your duty, to do the right thing at the right moment. As today’s gospel reveals in rather stark examples, to be a disciple means being prepared to encounter Jesus here and now. This type of preparedness requires us to avoid being distracted by petty concerns and trivial pursuits. It calls us to free ourselves from unhealthy attachments to possessions and even people. For, “those who try to make their life secure will lose it, but those who lose their life will keep it.” To help us better understand what it means to be prepared for a relationship with God, let’s take a moment to reflect on Saint Ignatius’ “First Principle and Foundation,” which opens the first week of his Spiritual Exercises: The goal of our life is to live with God forever. God, who loves us, gave us life. Our own response of love allows God’s life to flow into us without limit. All the things in this world are gifts of God, presented to us so that we can know God more easily and make a return of love more readily. As a result, we appreciate and use all these gifts of God insofar as they help us develop as loving persons. But if any of these gifts become the center of our lives, they displace God and so hinder our growth toward our goal. In everyday life, then, we must hold ourselves in balance before all of these created gifts insofar as we have a choice and are not bound by some obligation. We should not fix our desires on health or sickness, wealth or poverty, success or failure, a long life or a short one. For everything has the potential of calling forth in us a deeper response to our life in God. Our only desire and our one choice should be this: I want and I choose what better leads to God’s deepening his life in me. (A Contemporary Translation by Fr. David Fleming, SJ) —Jeremy Langford is the director of communications for the Chicago-Detroit Province Jesuits and author of Seeds of Faith: Practices to Grow a Healthy Spiritual Life ©2007 Paraclete Press, Brewster, MA. Prayer Lord, we dedicate our entire being to you. Let our security rest in knowing we belong to you. In great hope we surrender our dreams, our challenges, and our relationships to you. Remove from us anything that minimizes our conviction to live for you. And when the day gives way to night, let us be filled with thanksgiving and with a peace that comes from knowing we are your beloved. —The Jesuit Prayer Team
Posted on: Fri, 15 Nov 2013 12:23:04 +0000
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