From: Matthew 24:37-44

The Time of the Second Coming of Christ and of the Last Judgment

(Jesus said to his disciples,) [37] “As were the days of Noah, so will be the
coming of the Son of man. [38] For as in those days before the flood they were
eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day when Noah
entered the ark, [39] and they did not know until the flood came and swept them
all away, so will be the coming of the Son of man. [40] Then two men will be in
the field; one is taken and one is left. [41] Two women will be grinding at the mill;
one is taken and one is left.

Vigilance. The Faithful Servant

[42] “Watch therefore, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming.
[43] But know this, that if the householder had known in what part of the night
the thief was coming, he would have watched and would not have let his house
be broken into. [44] Therefore you also must be ready; for the Son of man is co-
ming at an hour you do not expect.

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Commentary:

37-39. In a few strokes our Lord sketches man’s perennial insensitivity and care-
lessness towards the things of God. Man thinks it is more important to eat and
drink, to find a husband or wife; but if that is his attitude he is forgetting about
the most important thing — eternal life. Our Lord also foretells that the end of the
world will be like the great flood; the Son of man’s second coming will happen
unexpectedly, taking people by surprise, whether they are doing good or evil.

40. It is in the context of the ordinary affairs of life — farmwork, housework, etc.
— that God calls man, and man responds: that is where his eternal happiness
or eternal punishment is decided. To be saved, one does not need to meet any
special conditions, or to be in a special position in life: one simply has to be
faithful to the Lord in the middle of ordinary everyday affairs.

42. Jesus himself draws from this revelation about the future the practical moral
that a Christian needs to be on the watch, living each day as if it were his last.

The important thing is not to be speculating about when these events will hap-
pen and what form they will take, but to live in such a way that they find us in
the state of grace.

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Source: “The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries”. Biblical text from the
Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries by members of
the Faculty of Theology, University of Navarre, Spain.

Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and
by Scepter Publishers in the United States.

Mass Readings

First reading	Isaiah 2:1-5 ©

The vision of Isaiah son of Amoz, concerning Judah and Jerusalem.

In the days to come

the mountain of the Temple of the Lord

shall tower above the mountains

and be lifted higher than the hills.

All the nations will stream to it,

peoples without number will come to it; and they will say:

‘Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord,

to the Temple of the God of Jacob

that he may teach us his ways

so that we may walk in his paths;

since the Law will go out from Zion,

and the oracle of the Lord from Jerusalem.’

He will wield authority over the nations

and adjudicate between many peoples;

these will hammer their swords into ploughshares,

their spears into sickles.

Nation will not lift sword against nation,

there will be no more training for war.

O House of Jacob, come,

let us walk in the light of the Lord.

Psalm	Psalm 121:1-2,4-5,6-9

Second reading	Romans 13:11-14 ©

You know ‘the time’ has come: you must wake up now: our salvation is even nearer than it was when we were converted. The night is almost over, it will be daylight soon – let us give up all the things we prefer to do under cover of the dark; let us arm ourselves and appear in the light. Let us live decently as people do in the daytime: no drunken orgies, no promiscuity or licentiousness, and no wrangling or jealousy. Let your armour be the Lord Jesus Christ.

Gospel	Matthew 24:37-44 ©

Jesus said to his disciples, ‘As it was in Noah’s day, so will it be when the Son of Man comes. For in those days before the Flood people were eating, drinking, taking wives, taking husbands, right up to the day Noah went into the ark, and they suspected nothing till the Flood came and swept all away. It will be like this when the Son of Man comes. Then of two men in the fields one is taken, one left; of two women at the millstone grinding, one is taken, one left.

‘So stay awake, because you do not know the day when your master is coming. You may be quite sure of this that if the householder had known at what time of the night the burglar would come, he would have stayed awake and would not have allowed anyone to break through the wall of his house. Therefore, you too must stand ready because the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.’