Remember Lot's wife

 

 Now when He was asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, He answered them and said, "This 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 one 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 

Yesterday we read that as Jesus went to Jerusalem, 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 not there 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, "This 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 comments here that the kingdom of God is a spiritual reality, which is present within the Christian believer, and within the community of the Church.  It is important to know that the words translated as within you can also mean "among you" and "in your midst."  Every meaning is important:  it is necessary to keep in mind the latter two, while not losing the sense of the first.

 

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."   The warning not to be preoccupied with worldly matters is applicable both to individuals believers, and to parishes, my study bible reminds us.  This is an illustration of our focus in every day life.  Christ is teaching us that it is important to keep in our consciousness His promise of return.  Christ illustrates that His return (or second coming) will entail a sudden revelation of judgment.  One will be taken to heaven and the other left for eternal condemnation.  My study bible bible says that the separation of the saints from the wicked will occur on "the day when the Son of Man is revealed" and not, as some speculate, at a time that occurs before Christ's 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 elaborates here that the body refers to Christ, while the eagles refer to the angels and the saints. 

Jesus gives two different perspectives here on the kingdom of God; one is to the Pharisees who ask Him about it, and the other to His disciples.  First of all, the question from the Pharisees reminds us as well that the Jews were also looking to the coming of the Kingdom.  The Messiah was seen as a figure who would usher in this reality into the world, and popular expectations looked to that kingdom as a material one in which the kingdom of Israel would triumph over her enemies (especially over the Roman Empire of the period), and reign supreme in the world.   Seen in that context, Jesus' answer become a poignant one for all of us, because it reminds us profoundly that His gospel is one in which we bear the Kingdom into the world.  This is the good news of Christ's ministry.  Then He turns to His disciples, and He begins to speak about the Second Coming, His return to the world after His Passion, Resurrection, and Ascension.  We remind ourselves, as does the Gospel at this point, that Jesus is headed toward Jerusalem and toward His Passion.  The disciples seem entirely unknowing despite His warnings of what is to come.  It might be unthinkable to them at this point that He could die, just as the future destruction of the temple and the Siege of Jerusalem was no doubt unthinkable to the Pharisees.  While His answer to the Pharisees was no doubt incomprehensible, we as disciples are called to understand what it means that the Kingdom is both within us and among us.  But His Second Coming remains something in which many are mired in speculation.  Most telling, in terms of the historical and traditional perspective of the Church, is that which is noted by my study bible:  that when it does come, it will come as a powerful unmistakable force for everyone in the world.  As Jesus describes it, His return will occur "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."  Moreover, with total swiftness of the moment, some will be taken and some will remain.  There will be no preparation for this time, save the signs Jesus has named in His discussions with the disciples in the various places in the Gospels when He also speaks of the destruction of the temple and of Jerusalem.  In Luke's Gospel, see Luke 21:5-28.  When Jesus speaks of the destruction of the temple (which would occur in 70 AD), it is intermingled also with prophecy of end times, meaning that we are never given clear timelines for His return.  Also, in a true historical and traditional perspective of the Church, "end times" include the whole of the period in which we await Christ's return.  So, the most essential information we take with us is the suddenness and unexpected quality of Christ's return.  He gives us a picture of people going along with their daily lives, entirely unaware of the moment of His return and the judgment that instantaneously occurs.  But this is a picture for us of the times of today.  It is we, as disciples, who must understand that we carry the Kingdom with us into the world, just as the earliest disciples were told by Jesus to tell people that "the kingdom of God has come near to you" (Luke 10:9-11).  Whether He is addressing the Pharisees or His disciples, Jesus' message is clear in today's reading.  We the faithful are those who must bear this living Kingdom into the world, within us and among us -- even as we await His return, of which He asks us to be ever-mindful.  In a rather stunning and slightly cryptic manner, He warns the disciples, "Remember Lot's wife."  She is the one who turned to a pillar of salt, as she looked back at the destruction of the "cities of the plain" (Genesis 19:26).  Jesus seems to be indicating that judgment can come this swiftly and powerfully, and that we are to be mindful always of what it is we are about, and the choice we make to bear this Kingdom within us and into the world.  Elsewhere, Jesus tells a would-be disciple who wants first to go back home to bid others good-bye, "No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God" (Luke 9:61-62).  Jesus' powerful reminder is a kind of explanation to us of the importance of our choices, our calling to be a part of this Kingdom.  Let us note that He calls both the Pharisees and His disciples to understanding, even as He is on His way to Jerusalem.  Let us remember where our focus needs to be in our own journey of faith.