Word to the Wise
Friday, November 11, 2016 - Friday in the 32th Week in Ordinary Time
[2 John 4-9 and Luke 17:26-37]"Whoever seeks to preserve his life will lose it, but whoever loses it will save it." [Luke]
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 11, 2016 ST. MARTIN OF TOURS
My itinerant ministry means that I must fly commercially to places that are too distant to reach easily by car in the time available. That means I hear the same speech before take-off many times. The temptation is to simply "zone out" and think of other things while the words flow from the overhead speaker or flight attendant. One sentence in that standard speech, however, came into my head as I reflected on today's gospel scripture: "In event of an evacuation, LEAVE YOUR BELONGINGS AND PROCEED TO THE NEAREST EXIT, BEARING IN MIND IT MAY BE BEHIND YOU."
The context for Jesus' paradoxical words, quoted above, is the "second coming." The community Luke was writing to was under persecution and hoping for vindication. Some were even claiming that Jesus had returned. The intent of the gospel is to have the Christian community live as if the Second Coming could happen any time. But the actual time was and still is unknown, despite continual efforts over 2000 years to predict it. Jesus' words in today's gospel warn us about placing our security in what belongs to us or in persons we know. It is only in giving our lives for others that we truly prepare for his return. The Rich Fool who builds bigger barns or the people in the time of Noah simply ignored their ultimate dependence on God and failed to heed warnings.
In the Creed each Sunday, we profess faith in "the life of the world to come." Do we live that belief? Where is our true security? The old saying stays true: "You can't take it with you." AMEN
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