ONE TAKEN, ONE LEFT

 

ONE TAKEN, ONE LEFT 

 

Predictions of the end of the world are as old as humankind. Even now, some  people still live in the end time rather than in the reality of today. As the liturgical  year moves toward its end, we will have several Gospel readings about the end.  They are all disturbing and puzzling. It is not clear whether Jesus is speaking  here about the horrible days of Jerusalem’s destruction which happened in the  year 70, or of the end of the world. Maybe it’s about both. 

 

There are at least two important messages in today’s passage. The first is  that the horrible event comes without warning. And that has a reason. When  we know the day of the end of the world or the hour of the end of our life, we  might live an indifferent life. We would not care whether we do good or bad,  because we plan to convert just a day before and go to confession. What a life  that would be. Unfortunately, many people live as they would never die. Jesus  could have told us the exact time but He did not. He urges us to be always  prepared and ready. The saying about the body and the vultures is a common  Jewish proverb which means everything will happen when certain conditions  are fulfilled. “In His time,” we say. 

 

The second point is that two people who work or live together would not  automatically be both saved. Here is a hidden warning. Intimacy with a good  person is no guarantee for our salvation. Each one will be judged individually.  There are young people who excuse themselves from going regularly to church  because the grandmother goes to Mass every day. There are husbands who leave  being pious to their wives. We cannot discharge our duty to God by proxy. 

 

This should not scare us. As long as we try to listen well to all of Christ’s  teachings, do the will of the Father, and be prepared for the great encounter  with the Lord, we could look forward to this moment with great expectation  and not with fear. That is why we pray after the Lord’s Prayer, “Protect us from  all anxiety as we wait in joyful hope for the coming of our Savior Jesus Christ.”  Fr. Rudy Horst, SVD

 

REFLECTION QUESTION 

In what areas of life do you have to change to apply the warnings of Jesus  in today’s Gospel? 

 

Lord, I need Your help to live more mindfully of my final destination—eternal life with You. 

Today, I pray for: __________________________________________________________