Remember Lot's wife. Whoever seeks to save his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life will preserve it

 Now when He was asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, He answered them and said, "The kingdom of God does not come with observation; nor will they say, 'See here!' or 'See there!'  For indeed, the kingdom of God is within you."

Then He said to the disciples, "The days will come when you will desire to see one of the days of the Son of Man, and you will not see it.  And they will say to you, 'Look here!' or 'Look there!'  Do not go after them or follow them.  For as the lightning that flashes out of one part under heaven shines to the other part under heaven, so also the Son of Man will be in His day.  But first He must suffer many things and be rejected by this generation.  And as it was in the days of Noah, so it will be also in the days of the Son of Man:  They ate, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all.  Likewise as it was also in the days of Lot:  They ate, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they built; but on the day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven and destroyed them all.  Even so will it be in the day when the Son of Man is revealed.  In that day, he who is on the housetop, and his goods are in the house, let him not come down to take them away.  And likewise the one who is in the field, let him not turn back.  Remember Lot's wife.  Whoever seeks to save his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life will preserve it.  I tell you, in that night there will be two men in the bed:  the one will be taken and the other will be left.  Two women will be grinding together:  the one will be taken and the other left.  Two men will be in the field:  the one will be taken and the other left."  And they answered and said to Him, "Where, Lord?"  So He said to them, "Wherever the body is, there the eagles will be gathered together."

- Luke 17:20-37

 Now it happened as He went to Jerusalem that He passed through the midst of Samaria and Galilee.  Then as He entered a certain village, there met Him ten men who were lepers, who stood afar off.  And they lifted up their voices and said, "Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!"  So when He saw them, He said to them, "Go, show yourselves to the priests."  And so it was that as they went, they were cleansed.  And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, returned, and with a loud voice glorified God, and fell down on his face at His feet, giving Him thanks.  And he was a Samaritan.  So Jesus answered and said, "Were there not ten cleansed?  But where are the nine?  Were there not any found who returned to give glory to God except this foreigner?"  And He said to him, "Arise, go your way.  Your faith has made you well."

 Now when He was asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, He answered them and said, "The kingdom of God does not come with observation; nor will they say, 'See here!' or 'See there!'  For indeed, the kingdom of God is within you."    My study bible notes that the kingdom of God is a spiritual reality that is present within the Christian believer and also within the community of the Church.  Within you can be also translated as "among you" or "in your midst."  Let us remember that the community of the Church extends mysteriously through the work of God the Spirit, creating the Body of Christ.  As a spiritual reality, we may be surprised "among whom" we will find this Kingdom (9:50).

Then He said to the disciples, "The days will come when you will desire to see one of the days of the Son of Man, and you will not see it.  And they will say to you, 'Look here!' or 'Look there!'  Do not go after them or follow them.  For as the lightning that flashes out of one part under heaven shines to the other part under heaven, so also the Son of Man will be in His day.  But first He must suffer many things and be rejected by this generation."  Here is a warning about those who claim to have special knowledge about the return of Christ.  When He does return, it will be obvious to all, complete, powerful, and sudden.  And clearly, there is a plan at work here; nothing proceeds before Jesus' Passion, death, and Resurrection.

"And as it was in the days of Noah, so it will be also in the days of the Son of Man:  They ate, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all.  Likewise as it was also in the days of Lot:  They ate, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they built; but on the day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven and destroyed them all.  Even so will it be in the day when the Son of Man is revealed."  This warning not to be preoccupied with worldly matters, says my study bible, applies both to individual believers and to parishes.  We are to remember what we're supposed to be about.

"In that day, he who is on the housetop, and his goods are in the house, let him not come down to take them away.  And likewise the one who is in the field, let him not turn back.  Remember Lot's wife.  Whoever seeks to save his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life will preserve it.  I tell you, in that night there will be two men in the bed:  the one will be taken and the other will be left.  Two women will be grinding together:  the one will be taken and the other left.  Two men will be in the field:  the one will be taken and the other left."  Jesus' return will entail a sudden revelation of judgment.  One will be taken to heaven, and the other left.  My study bible notes that the separation of the saints from the wicked will occur on "the day when the Son of Man is revealed" (verse 30, above), and not at an event that occurs before His return. 

And they answered and said to Him, "Where, Lord?"  So He said to them, "Wherever the body is, there the eagles will be gathered together."  My study bible tells us that the body refers to Christ, while the eagles refer to the angels and the saints. 

 The end of life as we know it in our world will come at Christ's second coming.  Jesus teaches the disciples several truths about that time.  First of all, He must pass through Jerusalem.  The central importance of His Passion, crucifixion, death, and Resurrection can't be avoided -- it is absolutely vital to the whole plan of the world, of the cosmos.  This event is central to the life of Creation, because it is the necessary central piece that must take place before His return and before Judgment.  Secondly, whatever is going to happen at the time of the end is going to happen in a way that is sudden and clear to all.  There is no one who is going to be left in the dark, so to speak.  There is no hidden place where He will return and others will not know of it.  Finally, and probably the most important piece of information we have, as Jesus places so much repeated emphasis on this point, is that we are in this time in which we await His return in order to focus on the here and the now.  That is, in order to be profitable servants.  The reason why our knowledge of His return and the Judgment that accompanies it is important is precisely because we need to focus on what we are to be about, to remember who we are and how we need to live our lives from moment to moment.  That is, our focus isn't on the time of His return at all.  We're not to make all kinds of calculations and estimates because that's not what our focus is supposed to be.  That's up to Him.  His return will come "like a thief in the night" and "at an hour you don't expect."  Our faith teaches us a kind of focus that is meant to be alert, vigilant, and aware at all times of how we are to live our lives.  Every moment counts.  We're to invest our vigilance in what our lives are called to be like, what opportunity is right in front of us, how God is asking us to remember God and to live life by participation in God's life for us.  We're invested with a kind of grace that we shouldn't think of as merely benign or somehow ethereal as if it may or may not make a difference to us.  Rather, grace is energy -- God at work in the world.  And that energy must be allowed to be at work through us and in us and within our lives, at all times.  Jesus tells us about His return so that we may remember this livening, quickening energy that is always within us and among us -- so that we may be truly alive to all that is present with us and live that fullness.  Is there something we need to do?  Do we have someone to thank, or to ask pardon of?  Is there something we need to change about ourselves or our way of thinking?  Do we need to pray?  How can we serve God, right now?  We have an energy in which we participate as good servants.  "Remember Lot's wife," Jesus tells us.  We are always moving forward.  The time for remembering is always right now.