The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today urge us to remain steadfast in the face of difficulties and challenges today and those connected with our passing from this world.
Walk in truth and love
The reading from the Second Letter of John underlines our need to persevere in truth and Love.
* [9] Anyone who is so “progressive”: literally, “Anyone who goes ahead.” Some gnostic groups held the doctrine of the Christ come in the flesh to be a first step in belief, which the more advanced and spiritual believer surpassed and abandoned in his knowledge of the spiritual Christ. The author affirms that fellowship with God may be gained only by holding to the complete doctrine of Jesus Christ (1 Jn 2:22–23; 4:2; 5:5–6).1
Psalm 119 praises the glories of God’s Law.
* [Psalm 119] This Psalm, the longest by far in the Psalter, praises God for giving such splendid laws and instruction for people to live by. The author glorifies and thanks God for the Torah, prays for protection from sinners enraged by others’ fidelity to the law, laments the cost of obedience, delights in the law’s consolations, begs for wisdom to understand the precepts, and asks for the rewards of keeping them. 2
In the Gospel of Luke, Jesus outlines the sudden coming of the days of the Son of Man.
* [17:20–37] To the question of the Pharisees about the time of the coming of God’s kingdom, Jesus replies that the kingdom is among you (Lk 17:20–21). The emphasis has thus been shifted from an imminent observable coming of the kingdom to something that is already present in Jesus’ preaching and healing ministry. Luke has also appended further traditional sayings of Jesus about the unpredictable suddenness of the day of the Son of Man, and assures his readers that in spite of the delay of that day (Lk 12:45), it will bring judgment unexpectedly on those who do not continue to be vigilant.3
Cindy Murphy McMahon comments that when she first read these passages, they added to the anxiety she was already feeling about many things going on in the world today: confusion, a pandemic, rivalry and distrust, and uncertainty about the future.
But upon further reflection I saw the simplicity of the letter to the new Christians, urging them to focus on loving one another and not being swayed by the Gnostics, who denied that Jesus was fully human as well as fully God. I saw how God’s will does prevail, because what once was a great threat to the Church (Gnosticism) was overcome and vanquished. And that bolstered my faith. In the Gospel, Jesus warns us not to be totally consumed with the daily preoccupations we all have. These things are not wrong – eating, drinking, marrying, buying, selling, planting, building – they are the stuff of life. But there is more, much more, beyond those activities. And on that Truth, the truth that Jesus came in the flesh to lead all souls to heaven, we should reflect and be centered upon each and every day.4
Don Schwager quotes “Those working in the field are sowing the Word of God,” by Ambrose of Milan, 339-397 A.D.
"'He that will be on the housetop, do not let him go down. He that will be in the field, do not let him turn back.' How may I understand what is the field unless Jesus himself teaches me? He says, 'No one putting his hand to the plough (plow) and looking back is fit for the kingdom of God' (Luke 9:62). The lazy person sits in the farmhouse, but the industrious person plants in the field. The weak are at the fireplace, but the strong are at the plough. The smell of a field is good, because the smell of Jacob is the smell of a full field (Genesis 27:27). A field is full of flowers. It is full of different fruits. Plough your field if you want to be sent to the kingdom of God. Let your field flower, fruitful with good rewards. Let there be a fruitful vine on the sides of your house and young olive plants around your table (Psalm 127:3). Already aware of its fertility, let your soul, sown with the Word of God and tilled by spiritual farming, say to Christ, 'Come, my brother, let us go out into the field' (Song of Solomon 7:11). Let him reply, 'I have come into my garden, my sister, my bride. I have gathered my vintage of myrrh' (Song of Solomon 5:1). What is better than the vintage of faith, by which the fruit of the resurrection is stored and the spring of eternal rejoicing is watered?" (excerpt from EXPOSITION OF THE GOSPEL OF LUKE 8.43.27)5
The Word Among Us Meditation on Luke 17:26-37 comments that when it comes to end times, however, the Church cautions us against reading too much into biblical images or trying to fit current events into the Scriptures. So when we reflect on today’s Gospel, perhaps we would find more insight if we thought less about whether we might be mysteriously whisked to heaven and more about how we’re spending our time here on earth.
So what will you leave behind? Perhaps a family more united because of your commitment to reconciliation. Maybe a parish that is closer to Jesus because of your witness to the joy of the Lord. Maybe grandchildren who are more thirsty for Jesus because of your intercession. Tomorrow is not assured. So what is Jesus calling you to do today? Begin by listening to the small promptings he has placed in your heart and acting on them. Someday Jesus will call you home. Until then, do your part to make the world a better place for the people you will leave behind. Start now! “Jesus, show me how I can leave behind a legacy of faith in you and love for one another.”6
Friar Jude Winkler connects the Docetism of the first century to Greek thought of God as existing at the end of the universe apart from a degenerate humanity. Heresies like Docetism and Gnosticism deny the reality of a world that needs to be transformed. Friar Jude reminds us that today is the day for conversion.
Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, hopes, whenever he speaks or writes, to help clear away the impediments to receiving, allowing, trusting, and participating in a foundational love. God’s love is planted inside each of us as the Holy Spirit who, according to Jesus, “will teach you everything and remind you of all that I told you” (John 14:26). Love is who we are. Fr. Richard reminds us of what we already know deep within our True Self. He invites us to live connected to this Source.
The first letter of John reminds us “God is love, and whoever remains in love, remains in God and God in her or him” (1 John 4:16). The creation story in Genesis says that we were created in the very “image and likeness” of God—who is love (Genesis 1:26; see also Genesis 9:6). Out of the Trinity’s generative, loving relationship, creation takes form, mirroring its Creator. If we are truly created in the “image and likeness of God”—then our family of origin is divine. We were created by a loving God to be love in the world. Our core is original blessing, not original sin. Our starting point is positive and, as it is written in the first chapter of the Bible, it is “very good” (Genesis 1:31). We do have a good place to go home. If the beginning is right, the rest is made considerably easier, because we know and can trust the clear direction of our life’s tangent.7
In the light of our “original blessing”, we seek to be the Love that transforms the world in the period before the End Time.
References
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