13-Nov-15

Gospel 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.”
Reflection:
Jesus said to his disciples, "Remember the wife of Lot."
As the people were walking away from the burning city of Sodom, Lot's wife looked back and turned into a pillar of salt.
Jesus reminds us, "Whoever seeks to preserve his life will lose it, but whoever loses it will save it."
Perhaps Lot's wife looked back in sorrow at things left behind or in longing for her former way of life.
Our Lord's message is clear. Once we have made a decision to follow Jesus Christ, we must leave behind those things we once considered of importance.
If we seek to "preserve" those things that the world finds of value then we risk losing a life of eternal happiness.
No one knows the hour or day when Jesus will return.
As sons and daughters of God, we should live our life so we have no concern about Christ's return, but look forward to His coming with anticipation and joy.
When He arrives may He find you and me spreading His love and hope by feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, visiting the sick, and comforting the lonely.

"For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake, and for the sake of the gospel, will save it. For what will it profit them to gain the whole world and forfeit their life? Indeed, what can they give in return for their life?" Mark 8:35-37