Reflection for Friday November 17, Memorial of Saint Elizabeth of Hungary, Religious: Luke 17:26-37

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.”

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Reflection:

When are we going to walk away from our sins? Should we still delay and wait when the most opportune time comes? It might not come and it might be too late already. We should change our ways right at this very moment for we do not know until when our life will be. 

The people during Noah’s time were merrymaking and sinning until the floods came so they died without repentance. Same as with the people of Sodom and Gomorra who were engaged in grievous sexual sins they died without repentance as well. 

What is sin that many of us are so smitten by it? Sin is the bait or trap of Satan for us to be his slaves and eventually to permanently be in his kingdom. Many of us fall into this bait for the simple reason that we are enticed by the attractiveness of sin. This is basically the reason why we sin. But sin will bring us nothing but troubles and problems and it will surely not bring us any good in the end. 

Let us take time to read and listen to the words of Jesus in the Bible, and let us be faithful to His teachings. The Lord will surely find a way for us so that we can permanently walk away from sin. Sin doesn’t offer us any good at all, and it will bring us nothing but chaos until it destroys us. Therefore, we must confront it and, soon after, leave it, no matter how attractive it may be. – Marino J. Dasmarinas