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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.
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We can feel the tension in today’s Gospel – the fire and brimstone type of preaching we usually hear from Jesus in the Advent season.
And, of course, Advent is near.
During the season of Advent, we often focus on the coming of the Christ-child at Christmas. But we are also supposed to look ahead, to prepare ourselves for the second coming of Jesus.
As the Lord reminds us today, using Noah’s Ark as an example, you and I will know neither the day nor the hour of his coming.
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Noah started building his ark while it was still bright and sunny outside. Once the darkness fell and the floods came, those who were saved were the ones already inside the boat. They prepared for the flood, even when it was nowhere in sight.
Similarly, we should prepare to meet the Lord now, even if we’re not planning on leaving this earth for a while. The truth is, we’re all one diagnosis, one unexpected turn, one phone call away from the flood waters.
Still, the temptation is to push our readiness off until tomorrow. “I’ll pray about the ‘Great Encounter’ tomorrow.” … “I’ll give up my favorite vice tomorrow.” … “I’ll work on improving my relationship with Jesus tomorrow.”
Such an attitude takes God for granted.
“You will know neither the day nor the hour,” the Lord says.
So why not begin preparing today?
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