FRIDAY NOVEMBER 17, 2023
FRIDAY OF THE THIRTY SECOND WEEK OF THE ORDINARY TIME A
SAINT ELIZABETH OF HUNGARY, Rel (Memorial)
Wisdom 13:1-9
Luke 17:26-37
DO NOT BE DISTRACTED FROM GOD AND OUR ETERNAL GOAL.
We, human beings are prone to be distracted in life. We tend to pursue shadow at times leaving reality. We forget and stray from our eternal goal and abandon the way in most cases. But the way is always clear and direct. We must keep focus.
This is the message Jesus sends to us today in the readings. The first reading talks about the abandonment of the God of creation to the worship of the creature. Man has left the God who created all things and replaced him with created things, by following and giving reverence and worship to the creatures. The need to recall that the creator is bigger and mightier than the creature was brought to our fore.
We must recognize the hand and presence of the creator of all things and acknowledge, reverence and worship the creator who is God in our midst. There is a misplacement of priority when we transfer what belongs to the creator to the creatures or when we reject or refuse to recognize the creator but give whole credence to the creatures. Wisdom warns us against such trend.
The gospel message directs us to think and work seriously for the eternal values that we are meant to seek. Jesus gives instances of the basic distractions in the times of Noah and Lot. That men pursued after merriment, materialism, the ephemeral, and the worldly and totally forgot the God who called them, the message of eternal life and the need to keep focus. Even when Noah was giving his warning and Lot was also telling them of the coming doom, the distractions of the world blurred their vision.
In our journey through life, we have many things that have blurred our vision and insight. We are short-circuited and taken over by the things of this world. Our time is consumed by the urge to be happy, fulfilling and progressive but only in matters that are worldly. We neither seek eternal values nor even pursue towards those virtues to earn us life eternal.
This is the basic issue Jesus addresses today. That the end time is near and the unpredictability of the coming of Christ keeps us gripping in the dark and wallowing in ignorance, straying in faith and morals.
For Jesus, time is short and the need to rise up, and take the Bull by the horn in seeking after what is eternal, focusing more than ever before in what will earn us life eternal. We need to spend our time on earth building and living virtuous life, making way for our goodness to flourish, and amassing eternal values that we will enjoy when we leave this world.
And our Lord Jesus points to the way to get these things, by denying ourselves, living for others a life of charity, sacrifice, holiness of life and following the directives and instructions of our God.
God our Father, we are distracted by so many materially enticing world. Grant us a steady spirit and focus minds to work for our eternal salvation building virtue, loving others, thinking always of our eternal life and recognizing you present at every moment of our lives. Lord, Lead, guide and direct us to you and our eternal heritage through Christ Jesus our Lord.
Fr Norbert Uchuno
