THE WORD
2 Jn 4-9 / Lk 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 let 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, a person who is on the housetop and whose belongings are in the house must not go down to get them, and likewise a person in the field must not return to what has 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.”
IN OTHER WORDS
When we listened to the reading from the Gospel, perhaps some of us were touched by verse 33: “Whoever seeks to preserve his life will lose it, but whoever loses it will save it”. These words certainly t well with the story of the lay leader Peter To Rot who was brutally killed by the Japanese soldiers during World War II because of his un inching dedication to spreading the Good News to the local people. At first, the Japanese army did not arrest him, because only the priests were rounded up and deported, not lay people. But eventually he was apprehended because he continued to gather the community for prayer and made sure the catechism was taught to them. Peter To Rot could therefore have saved his life by doing nothing more than the others. But he sensed he could help his fellow Christians, knowing very well that if he played a leading role, he might have to suffer for that. Had he remained inactive, he would have saved his life. He played a leading role, a role that led to him sacrificing his life.
The story of Peter To Rot is a looking back at past history. That story also helps us to look forward to the future. What is our vision for the Church of tomorrow? How do we see the Church of tomorrow?
It will surely be a Church where the laity will take a much more active role than it did in the past. The Church of tomorrow will be a Church where every member of the community is invited to play his and her role more actively.
- Fr. Alex Muaña, SVD | South Africa
The Word in other words 2016
An annual project of Logos Publications, The WORD in Other Words Bible Diary contains daily scripture readings and reflections written by priest, brothers, and sisters of the three congregations founded by St. Arnold Janssen (the SVD, SSpS, and SSpSAP). It hopes to serve as a daily companion to readers who continually seek the correlation of the Word of God and human experience.
