First reading 2 John 4-9
The commandment which you have heard since the beginning is to live a life of love
It has given me great joy to find that your children have been living the life of truth as we were commanded by the Father. I am writing now, dear lady, not to give you any new commandment, but the one which we were given at the beginning, and to plead: let us love one another.
To love is to live according to his commandments: this is the commandment which you have heard since the beginning, to live a life of love.
There are many deceivers about in the world, refusing to admit that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh. They are the Deceiver; they are the Antichrist. Watch yourselves, or all our work will be lost and not get the reward it deserves. If anybody does not keep within the teaching of Christ but goes beyond it, he cannot have God with him: only those who keep to what he taught can have the Father and the Son with them.
Responsorial Psalm 118(119):1-2,10-11,17-18
They are happy who follow God’s law.
They are happy whose life is blameless,
who follow God’s law!
They are happy who do his will,
seeking him with all their hearts.
I have sought you with all my heart;
let me not stray from your commands.
I treasure your promise in my heart
lest I sin against you.
Bless your servant and I shall live
and obey your word.
Open my eyes that I may see
the wonders of your law.
Gospel Luke 17:26-37
When the day comes for the Son of Man to be revealed
Jesus said to the disciples:
‘As it was in Noah’s day, so will it also be in the days of the Son of Man. People were eating and drinking, marrying wives and husbands, right up to the day Noah went into the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all. It will be the same as it was in Lot’s day: people were eating and drinking, buying and selling, planting and building, but the day Lot left Sodom, God rained fire and brimstone from heaven and it destroyed them all. It will be the same when the day comes for the Son of Man to be revealed.
‘When that day comes, anyone on the housetop, with his possessions in the house, must not come down to collect them, nor must anyone in the fields turn back either. Remember Lot’s wife. Anyone who tries to preserve his life will lose it; and anyone who loses it will keep it safe. I tell you, on that night two will be in one bed: one will be taken, the other left; two women will be grinding corn together: one will be taken, the other left.’ The disciples interrupted. ‘Where, Lord?’ they asked. He said, ‘Where the body is, there too will the vultures gather.’
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Look at life and see God
In today’s gospel, Jesus told his disciples not to be so caught up with the daily busyness of eating and drinking, marrying wives and husbands, buying and selling, planting and building; to the point that they forgot to live for what mattered, i.e. to recognise God’s presence in their midst and lived with Him and for Him.
Often, we are so caught up in the busyness of doing activities and going through daily routines that we forget to contemplate life on a deeper
level. Today, let us recognise that Jesus is present in our daily activities, in our relationships with others, in our struggles, etc. Each day is a new opportunity to live in a relationship with Him. If we are open to living with Him each day, then His coming to us at the end of our earthly life will not take us by surprise. Instead, we will be ready to meet God face to face.
level. Today, let us recognise that Jesus is present in our daily activities, in our relationships with others, in our struggles, etc. Each day is a new opportunity to live in a relationship with Him. If we are open to living with Him each day, then His coming to us at the end of our earthly life will not take us by surprise. Instead, we will be ready to meet God face to face.
Reflective question:
Do I allow the busyness of life to overshadow my relationship with God?
Do I allow the busyness of life to overshadow my relationship with God?
Acknowledgment: Reflections are based on “Prayer for Living: The Word of God for Daily Prayer Year C” by Sr Sandra Seow FMVD.
