First reading: Is. 2:1–5
This is what Isaiah, son of Amoz, saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem. In days to come, the mountain of the LORD’s house shall be established as the highest mountain and raised above the hills. All nations shall stream toward it; many peoples shall come and say: “Come, let us climb the LORD’s mountain, to the house of the God of Jacob, that he may instruct us in his ways, and we may walk in his paths.”
For from Zion shall go forth instruction, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem. He shall judge between the nations, and impose terms on many peoples. They shall beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks; one nation shall not raise the sword against another, nor shall they train for war again. O house of Jacob, come, let us walk in the light of the Lord!
Second reading: Rm. 13:11–14
Brothers and sisters: You know the time; it is the hour now for you to awake from sleep. For our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed; the night is advanced, the day is at hand. Let us then throw off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light; let us conduct ourselves properly as in the day, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in promiscuity and lust, not in rivalry and jealousy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the desires of the flesh.
Gospel: Mt. 24:37–44
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.”
In other words
by Fr. Patricio de los Reyes, SVD (Holy Name University, Tagbilaran City, Bohol)
I was already in High School when I became aware of people announcing the Coming of the Son of Man, the Lord and Messiah. They announced that the end of the world was coming. They were also instructed to buy candles to be blessed by a priest because, supposedly, this is the only instrument that would give light amid the darkness that will come. Well, I never really believed it, and being young then, I was never bothered about it. Even today, I am still skeptical about these kinds of rumors.
But I firmly believe that the Savior will come again. I believe that I should be awake and watchful, symbolized by the lighting of the candle when darkness sets in. This is not the candle blessed by the priest. The light that shines in the darkness does not come from that candle. It is the light of the Christ. I have the light of Christ given to me when I was baptized and was commanded not to extinguish it. I must continually let my light shine until the coming of the Son of Man. I must be ready when he comes. I must be prayerful and mindful of everything around me and strive to actualize the commandments of God by doing good and avoiding evil works, doing what is right, and avoiding all the wrong things.
Today, I challenge myself to become a person of the Light. I challenge myself to always walk on Jesus’ path and be blameless and pleasing to God so that I will be ready when the Savior comes.