First reading 2 John 4-9
The commandment which you have heard since the beginning is to live a life of love
It has given me great joy to find that your children have been living the life of truth as we were commanded by the Father. I am writing now, dear lady, not to give you any new commandment, but the one which we were given at the beginning, and to plead: let us love one another.
To love is to live according to his commandments: this is the commandment which you have heard since the beginning, to live a life of love.
There are many deceivers about in the world, refusing to admit that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh. They are the Deceiver; they are the Antichrist. Watch yourselves, or all our work will be lost and not get the reward it deserves. If anybody does not keep within the teaching of Christ but goes beyond it, he cannot have God with him: only those who keep to what he taught can have the Father and the Son with them.
Responsorial Psalm 118(119):1-2,10-11,17-18
They are happy who follow God’s law.
They are happy whose life is blameless,
who follow God’s law!
They are happy who do his will,
seeking him with all their hearts.
I have sought you with all my heart;
let me not stray from your commands.
I treasure your promise in my heart
lest I sin against you.
Bless your servant and I shall live
and obey your word.
Open my eyes that I may see
the wonders of your law.
Gospel Luke 17:26-37
When the day comes for the Son of Man to be revealed
Jesus said to the disciples:
‘As it was in Noah’s day, so will it also be in the days of the Son of Man. People were eating and drinking, marrying wives and husbands, right up to the day Noah went into the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all. It will be the same as it was in Lot’s day: people were eating and drinking, buying and selling, planting and building, but the day Lot left Sodom, God rained fire and brimstone from heaven and it destroyed them all. It will be the same when the day comes for the Son of Man to be revealed.
‘When that day comes, anyone on the housetop, with his possessions in the house, must not come down to collect them, nor must anyone in the fields turn back either. Remember Lot’s wife. Anyone who tries to preserve his life will lose it; and anyone who loses it will keep it safe. I tell you, on that night two will be in one bed: one will be taken, the other left; two women will be grinding corn together: one will be taken, the other left.’ The disciples interrupted. ‘Where, Lord?’ they asked. He said, ‘Where the body is, there too will the vultures gather.’
Loving and Staying Awake
In the first reading from the Second Letter of John, we are reminded that “to love is to live according to his commandments: this is the commandment which you have heard since the beginning, to live a life of love.” St. John presents love not simply as a feeling, but as a way of living. We love when we treat others with kindness and respect, speak honestly, forgive and seek what is good for others. Every act of love, small or big, becomes a way of walking in the path Jesus has shown us. We might fail to love from time to time, but we can always begin again by asking God to make our hearts kinder and more attentive to others.
In the Gospel, Jesus recalls the days of Noah and Lot, when people went about their routines without realising how fleeting life is. His words are not meant to frighten us, but to awaken us to what truly matters: living a life of love. May we put love into action so that ordinary moments today become places where we encounter God’s presence.
Reflective question:
How can I show God’s love through my choices, words and actions today?
Acknowledgment: Reflections are based on “Prayer for Living: The Word of God for Daily Prayer Year A” by Sr Maria Jose FMVD
