Daily Gospel Reflection
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November 11, 2022
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.”
Reflection
This is a tough passage. Perhaps this is why, on Veterans Day, they called in the Marines. The reference to Noah in today’s gospel brings back many memories of over five years spent on Navy ships during my 27-year Marine Corps career.
My last deployment, aboard USS Peleliu, was nearly eight months long and included two “beer days,” as twice we were at sea for 45 straight days without a port call. Old Testament scholars think Noah was on the ark for a year before making a port visit to Ararat. That’s eight beer days if you’re counting!
Jesus says, “Whoever seeks to preserve his life will lose it, but whoever loses it will save it.” He presents us with this paradox and uses Noah to illustrate that we must abandon ourselves and let God take the helm.
Noah showed tremendous faith and courage: he built the ark, gathered his family and the animals, and “deployed” simply because God told him to. Despite not knowing what the future held, Noah followed God’s orders and his sacrifice ensured that God’s creation would begin anew.
Veterans Day has its origins in Armistice Day, which marks the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918, when World War I ended with the signing of an armistice. On campus, WWI is commemorated with a memorial on the east transept of the Basilica of the Sacred Heart. The “God, Country, Notre Dame” door symbolizes the university’s long history and deep connection with the military.
So, on this day that honors the 19 million men and women that have donned our nation’s uniform and by their service and sacrifice earned the title Veteran, including fellow alums and friends of Our Lady’s university, I proudly render a hand salute.
May we all be granted the faith and courage of Noah and listen to and heed God’s orders.
Prayer
Gracious God, there has to be more to life than an unceasing round of eating, drinking, marrying, building, sowing, reaping, buying, and selling. All these things ultimately have their origin in you, so it stands to reason that we should be able to find your presence in those activities. Through Jesus and your Spirit, grant us the graces and the insights needed to see your presence in the here and now of everyday life so that we will not be fatally surprised when your day finally does come. Amen.
Saint of the Day
St. Martin of Tours is famous for sharing his cloak with a man who was begging in the cold, but his faithful life also included standing up to the Roman Caesar as a conscientious objector and his election as bishop by popular acclaim.
Martin’s father was a soldier, an officer in the Roman army, and the family relocated several times to accompany him on different assignments. Because Martin was the son of a veteran, at the age of 15, he was forcibly enlisted into the army, though he lived more like a monk than a soldier.
One day, during a severe winter, he met a poor man who was begging near the gate to the city. The man was almost naked and was trembling with cold. Martin felt called to help the man but had nothing with him. He drew his sword and cut his army cloak in two—wrapping himself in what was left and giving the beggar the other half.
That night, Martin had a dream in which he saw Jesus himself dressed in the half of the cloak that he had cut. “Martin has covered me with his garment,” he heard Jesus say. Martin had been learning the faith, but was not yet baptized—after that dream, he rushed to complete his initiation into the Church.
As a soldier, he was called upon to fight the barbarians in Gaul, but he refused. He appeared before Caesar before deployment and told him, “I am a soldier of Christ and it is not lawful for me to fight.” The emperor was furious and accused Martin of being a coward. Martin replied that he was willing to advance alone upon the enemy without any weapons. He was thrown into prison.
When he was released, he went to Poitiers, where St. Hilary—now a saint and doctor of the Church—was the bishop. Martin followed Hilary and joined his work in opposing heretical strains of the Christian faith.
After a great deal of travel, Martin wanted to pursue holiness in solitude. Hilary gave him a portion of land where he could live as a hermit. Others joined Martin there and he established a monastery. He lived there for 10 years, preaching through the region and working miracles.
In 371 the people of nearby Tours demanded that Martin become their bishop. He refused, so they tricked him: they invited him to the town to visit a sick person, and when he arrived, they kidnapped him and delivered him to the church, where other bishops were ready to ordain him. Martin was in poor shape—unkempt and wearing worn-out, humble clothes—and the bishops thought he was not fit for this role, but the people clamored for his ordination.
As bishop, Martin tried to live in a cell attached to the church but was often interrupted, so he moved to the countryside. Again, many others joined him there, so he established another monastery. He opposed paganism in the region, confronting idolatry, preaching, and working miracles to spread the faith. Many other signs and prophecies were attributed to Martin—he advocated for the imprisoned and begged for mercy for those awaiting execution.
Martin died of an illness in old age on Nov. 8, 397, and was buried on this date that year. His relics rest in the reliquary chapel and he is shown sharing his cloak in this stained glass image from the chapel in Geddes Hall.
St. Martin of Tours, generous soldier who saw Christ even in the poorest beggar—pray for us!