November 17, 2017

Gospel: Lk 17:26-37
As it was in the days of Noah, so will it be on the day the Son of Man comes. In those days people ate and drank and got married; but on the day Noah entered the ark, the flood came and destroyed them all. So it was in the days of Lot: people ate and drank, and bought and sold, and planted and built; but on the day Lot left Sodom, God made fire and sulfur rain down from heaven, which destroyed them all. So will it be on the day the Son of Man is revealed.
On that day, if you are on the rooftop, don‘t go down into the house to get your belongings; and if you happen to be in the fields, do not turn back. Remember Lot‘s wife! Whoever tries to save his life will lose it, but whoever gives his life will be born again.
I tell you, though two men are sharing the same bed, it might happen that one will be taken, and the other left; though two women are grinding meal together, one might be taken and the other left.“
Then they asked Jesus, “Where will this take place, Lord?“ And he answered, “Where the body is, there too will the vultures gather.“

REFLECTION:
Many are frustrated. Many too stopped praying because they do not receive reply from God. Asked what they are praying for, their prayers are all petitions, asking for their needs. This reminds me of our retreat master when we were college seminarians who told us; “You love the works of the Lord but you do not love the Lord of the works.“ People pray for miracles but do not pray to the God of miracles. True then is what our first reading is telling us: “They were interested in His works, but they did not recognize the author of them all.“
The world is habituated by different peoples, different in races, religion, profession, cultures and by good and bad. Christians are different from them all. Most often Christians are misinterpreted, misunderstood, discriminated, poor. Many times the bad triumphs, has better financial resources, powerful, happy and easy living. In their times, Noah and Lot lived differently, unnoticed among the marrying, the drinking and perverse people. Only God‘s eyes saw the difference.
God knows who belongs to Him and who is His. When the Son of God comes, God knows whom to take and whom to leave behind. No worry then if our goodness is unnoticed, not recognized, not rewarded. God does not sleep. It will not escape God‘s eyes. He will reward the good and punish the wicked.