Daily Gospel Reflection
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November 27, 2022
Jesus said to his disciples:
“As it was in the days of Noah,
so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man.
In those days before the flood,
they were eating and drinking,
marrying and giving in marriage,
up to the day that Noah entered the ark.
They did not know until the flood came and carried them all away.
So will it be also at the coming of the Son of Man.
Two men will be out in the field;
one will be taken, and one will be left.
Two women will be grinding at the mill;
one will be taken, and one will be left.
Therefore, stay awake!
For you do not know on which day your Lord will come.
Be sure of this: if the master of the house
had known the hour of night when the thief was coming,
he would have stayed awake
and not let his house be broken into.
So too, you also must be prepared,
for at an hour you do not expect, the Son of Man will come.”
The last line of today’s gospel urges us to be prepared for the Lord’s coming. Only, instead of like a thief taking what is most valuable, Jesus warns he could take one look at our hearts and decide to leave us behind.
In years past, this gospel made me squirm. It felt like a warning that if I didn’t adhere to every single one of God’s teachings and follow them to the letter, I would be the woman left grinding at the mill or the man left to work the fields.
As much as I love Advent, entering the season with what sounds like a message of fear feels lacking. Is this Christ’s intention? I live by the motto Memento Mori, not because I am afraid of what may come when I die, but because I want to live this life as fully as possible. So what is unnerving about this Scripture passage?
Before writing this reflection, in the spirit of Lectio Divina, I read the gospel a second and then a third time and noticed something that had never occurred to me before. My sons, who are working towards becoming Eagle Scouts, also talk of being prepared. They prepare so that they may be of service to others.
I wonder if I have misinterpreted Jesus’ warning all these years. Maybe Jesus is not asking us to draw inward and evaluate our personal spiritual life for our own benefit but to pour forth our care and compassion on others. Perhaps to be prepared is less about how it affects us—the fear of being left behind or missing out.
Perhaps the one taken in today’s parable is that person most ready to listen to God and actively participate in sharing God’s kingdom of love with others.
Prayer
Lord, come to save us! All those years ago you came down to us from heaven, to little, forgotten Bethlehem. Then you saved us, Lord, by your cross and resurrection. Come to us again. Save us now as we prepare to celebrate how you became a person, poor and weak and small, a person like us. We thank you for all our many blessings. We ask you for what we still need. On this first Sunday of Advent, help us to watch, to be alert, to wait with Mary and Joseph until you come again. Amen.
Saint of the Day
Despite the city attached to his name, St. Virgil of Salzburg was actually from Ireland—he was a pilgrim on his way to the Holy Land who stopped in Salzburg on his journey and stayed as its bishop.
As abbot of a monastery in Ireland in the eighth century, Virgil was one of the most learned men in Europe (he even gained the sobriquet the “The Geometer” for his knowledge of geometry). Virgil decided to make a pilgrimage to the Holy Land, and he and his fellow companions sailed to France. Virgil spent two years wandering and traveling throughout Europe but did not get any farther east than Bavaria.
During a stay in Salzburg, Virgil was appointed abbot of a monastery, a role that included administrative duties for the bishop of that diocese. He performed these duties admirably and found himself compelled to accept an appointment as bishop of Salzburg.
Virgil ran into trouble with St. Boniface, who disagreed with some of his decisions and teachings and complained to the pope. These inter-saint disagreements came to nothing, however, and Virgil continued on his tenure as a fantastically effective bishop without further disruption from saint or sinner. Virgil rebuilt the cathedral in Salzburg to become an even larger and grander building than it had been originally and sent missionaries to evangelize the surrounding regions.
Virgil himself traveled to preach the Gospel to new people, as far as Hungary and is known as the Apostle to the Slovenians. When he returned from one such journey, Virgil, unfortunately, fell ill and died on this date, November 27, in 784. Virgil was renowned for his great knowledge and his holiness, and his feast is celebrated both in Ireland and throughout central Europe.
St. Virgil of Salzburg, Irish abbot who left for a Holy Land pilgrimage and found himself bishop of Salzburg—pray for us!
Image Credit: Our featured image of St. Virgil of Salzburg is available for use under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license. Modified from the original. Last accessed October 18, 2024 on Wikimedia Commons.
