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From: 2 John 4-9

The Law of Love

[4] I rejoiced greatly to find some of your children following the truth, just as we
have been commanded by the Father. [5] And now I beg you, lady, not as though
I were writing you a new commandment, but the one we have had from the begin-
ning, that we love one another. [6] And this is love, that we follow his command-
ments; this is the commandment, as you have heard from the beginning, that
you follow love.

Precautions Against Heretics

[7] For many deceivers have gone out into the world, men who will not acknow-
ledge the coming of Jesus Christ in the flesh; such a one is the deceiver and the
antichrist. [8] Look to yourselves, that you may not lose what you have worked
for, but may win a full reward. [9] Any one who goes ahead and does not abide
in the doctrine of Christ does not have God; he who abides in the doctrine has
both the Father and the Son.

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Commentary:

4-6. Among all similarities of language and content between the Second and
Third Letters, this passage is a particularly significant one.

The Apostle’s joy (v. 4) is based on the fact that the Christians have learned that
walking in the truth entails keeping the commandment of brotherly love, which
they have had from the beginning. The verses sum up one of the main themes of
the First Letter, where St John expounds these teachings at greater length (cf. 1
Jn 2:7-11; 3:11-24; 4:7-21 and notes on same).

“That you follow love”: the Greek is ambiguous and literally says “that you follow
it”; “it” could refer to the commandment (that is how the New Vulgate reads it)
or to love. The sense is not very different, if one remembers that in St John’s tea-
ching the commandments reduce to love of God and love of neighbor: “Listen
carefully to a brief precept”, St Augustine exhorts, “love and do what you like”
(”In Epist. Ioann Ad Parthos”, 7, 8).

St John also emphasizes that this is a commandment they have had “from the
beginning” (vv. 5 and 6); that is, Tradition is so definite on this point that anyone
who teaches otherwise is a liar and a deceiver. This helps to explain the connec-
tion between these verses and the ones which follow. In fact the false teachers
were causing harm in two ways — by corrupting the faith and by destroying unity
and mutual love.

7-ll. These warnings are a summary of things said in the First Letter (cf. 2:18-29;
4:1-6; 5:1-5; and notes on same). St John shows how to recognize these here-
tics — by the fact that they do not acknowledge the divinity of Jesus Christ incar-
nate (cf. 1 Jn 4:2-3 and note); and he warns that anyone who turns his back on
sound teaching is abandoning the Father and the Son (cf. 1 Jn 2:22-25 and notes).
The passage ends with instructions on precautions to take in dealings with those
people (vv. 10-11).

On the “antichrist” (v. 7), see the note on 1 Jn 2:18.

8. “That you may not lose what you have worked for”: many important codices
read “what we have worked for”, referring to the efforts of the Apostles. Both rea-
dings have equal support in the Greek codices; both make sense and show that
in order to persevere in the faith (and obtain the reward for doing so) care and
effort are needed, on the part of both pastors and other faithful.

St Cyril of Jerusalem exhorted: “Keep careful watch, to ensure that the enemy
does not make off with any who are off guard or remiss; and that no heretic may
pervert part of what you have been given. Accepting the faith is like putting into
the bank the money we have given you; God will ask you for an account of this
deposit” (”Catechesis V, Defide Et Symbolo”).

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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.

From: Luke 17:26-37

The Day of the Son of Man (Continuation)

(Jesus said to His disciples,) [26] “As it was in the days of Noah, so will it be in
the days of the Son of Man. [27] They ate, they drank, they married, they were
given in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, and the flood came
and destroyed them all. [28] Likewise as it was in the days of Lot — they ate,
they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they built, [29] but on the day
when Lot went out from Sodom fire and brimstone rained from Heaven and des-
troyed them all — [30] so will it be on the day when the Son of Man is revealed.

[31] On that day, let him who is on the housetop, with his goods in the house,
not come down to take them away; and likewise let him who is in the field not
turn back. [32] Remember Lot’s wife. [33] Whoever seeks to gain his life will lose
it, but whoever loses his life will preserve it. [34] I tell you, in that night there will
be two men in one bed; one will be taken and the other left. [35] There will be
two women grinding together; one will be taken and the other left.” [37] And they
said to Him, “Where Lord?” He said to them, “Where the body is, there the ea-
gles will be gathered together.”

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Commentary:

23-36. These words of our Lord are a prophecy about the last coming of the Son
of Man. We should remember that prophecy often involves events on different le-
vels, many symbols, a terminology of its own; the “chiaroscuro” which they cre-
ate gives us insight into future events, but the concrete details only become clear
when the events actually occur. Our Lord’s last coming will be something sudden
and unexpected; it will catch many people unprepared. Jesus illustrates this by
giving examples from sacred history: as in the time of Noah (cf. Genesis 6:9-19:
7) and that of Lot (cf. Genesis 18:16-19:27) divine judgment will be visited on
men without warning.

However, it is useful to recall here that everyone will find himself before the divine
Judge immediately when he dies, at the Particular Judgment. Thus Jesus’ tea-
ching has also a present urgency about it: here and now a disciple should scru-
tinize his own conduct, for the Lord can call him when he least expects.

33. “Will preserve it”: what the Greek word literally means is “will engender (his
life)”, that is to say, “will give true life to the soul”. Thus our Lord seems to mean
the following: he who wants to save his life at all costs, making it his basic value,
will lose eternal life; whereas he who is ready to lose his earthly life — that is, to
resist even to death the enemies of God and of his soul — will obtain eternal hap-
piness through this struggle. In content this passage is almost identical with
Luke 9:24.

36. In the Vulgate this verse reads: “Una assumetur, et altera relinquetur. Duo in
agro; unus assumetur, et alter relinquetur” (”One will be taken and the other left.
Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left”). These words
seem to be an addition to Luke, taken from Matthew 24:40; they do not appear
in the better Greek manuscripts, which is why the New Vulgate omits them.

37. “Where the body is, there the eagles will gather”: the Greek text uses a
word which could mean either eagle or vulture. In any event the proverb indicates
the speed with which birds of prey swoop down on their victims — apparently re-
ferring to the sudden, unexpected way the Second Coming or Last Judgment will
happen. Sacred Scripture also deals with this subject in other passages: “But as
to the times and the seasons, brethren, you have no need to have anything writ-
ten to you. For you yourselves know well that the day of the Lord will come like a
thief in the night” (1 Thessalonians 5:1-2). Once more Jesus is exhorting us to be
watchful: we should never neglect the most important thing in life — eternal salva-
tion. “All that, which worries you for the moment, is of relative importance. What
is of absolute importance is that you be happy, that you be saved” (St. J. Escriva,
“The Way”, 297). So curious are the Pharisees and the disciples about the time
and place of the Last Coming that they are distracted from Jesus’ main point; the
same thing happens to us: for example, we can spend a lot of time pondering the
circumstances of the deaths of people we know, and fail to grasp the warning
these deaths contain — that this life is going to end one way or another and that
after it we too will meet God.

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