Today’s Scripture Readings

Just as it was in the days of Noah, so too it will be in the days of the Son of Man. They were eating and drinking, and marrying and being given in marriage, until the day Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed all of them. Likewise, just as it was in the days of Lot: they were eating and drinking, buying and selling, planting and building, but on the day that Lot left Sodom, it rained fire and sulphur from heaven and destroyed all of them —it will be like that on the day that the Son of Man is revealed. On that day, anyone on the housetop who has belongings in the house must not come down to take them away; and likewise anyone in the field must not turn back. Remember Lot’s wife. Those who try to make their life secure will lose it, but those who lose their life will keep it. I tell you, on that night there will be two in one bed; one will be taken and the other left. There will be two women grinding meal together; one will be taken and the other left.’ Then they asked him, ‘Where, Lord?’ He said to them, ‘Where the corpse is, there the vultures will gather.’

This morning, as I came to pray over this Gospel, a community of cockatoos held their staff meeting on the clothesline. A couple of wispy dropped feathers later, they flew off suddenly. I was drawn to praise God for their beauty.

‘Jesus said to his disciples….’ So, what is Jesus saying to us today and what might be our desire as we approach Him in our prayer, with today’s Gospel passage at hand?

Perhaps we are asking for the grace of awareness, amidst our end of year busyness? Could we yearn for the freedom Jesus has on the way to Jerusalem, when he says, ‘Those who try to make their life secure will lose it, but those who lose their life will keep it.’ This paradox is a classic from Jesus, the Risen Lord.

Jesus recalls for his disciples the stories of Noah’s ark and Lot’s wife, as well as daily preoccupations with eating, drinking, buying, selling, planting, building, grinding meal and working in the field. There’s a reference to vultures gathering.

I was blessed to see the cockatoos preparing for their day. As we become aware of God’s presence today, we may choose to pray, with Gerard Manley Hopkins, for the grace to enable us to cooperate with the Holy Spirit who ‘over the bent World broods with warm breast and with ah! bright wings.’