***
Gospel: Luke 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.”
The Gospel of the Lord.
***
***
Jesus doesn’t parse words. Certainly, in today’s Gospel, he goes straight to the point.
“I tell you, on that night there will be two people in one bed; one will be taken, the other left.”
There are many things in life that can be shared – a movie, a car ride home, a bottle of wine, or a bed.
But one thing that cannot be shared – or borrowed – is one’s relationship with God.
Regardless of how many friends, blessings, or people we have praying for us, each human being must answer to God for the life they’ve lived. Did they love their neighbor? Did they care for the poor? Did they remember the day of judgment?
***
May we make this day count by loving our God and our neighbor as ourselves.
***
***
Image credits: (1) Kevin Carden, Facebook (2) Pikrepo (3) Zenefits