2 JOHN 4-9
[Chosen Lady:] I rejoiced greatly to find some of your children walking in the truth just as we were commanded by the Father. But now, Lady, I ask you, not as though I were writing a new commandment but the one we have had from the beginning: let us love one another. For this is love, that we walk according to his commandments; this is the commandment, as you heard from the beginning, in which you should walk.
Many deceivers have gone out into the world, those who do not acknowledge Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh; such is the deceitful one and the antichrist. Look to yourselves that you do not lose what we worked for but may receive a full recompense. Anyone who is so “progressive” as not to remain in the teaching of the Christ does not have God; whoever remains in the teaching has the Father and the Son.
PSALM 119
R. Blessed are they who follow the law of the Lord!
Blessed are they whose way is blameless,
who walk in the law of the Lord. R.
Blessed are they who observe his decrees,
who seek him with all their heart. R.
With all my heart I seek you;
let me not stray from your commands. R.
Within my heart I treasure your promise,
that I may not sin against you. R.
Be good to your servant, that I may live
and keep your words. R.
Open my eyes, that I may consider
the wonders of your law. R.
GOSPEL ACCLAMATION
Alleluia, alleluia.
Stand erect and raise your heads
because your redemption is at hand. Lk 21:28
Alleluia, alleluia.
LUKE 17:26-37
Jesus said to his disciples: “As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be in the days of the Son of Man; they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage up to the day that Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all. Similarly, as it was in the days of Lot: they were eating, drinking, buying, selling, planting, building; on the day when Lot left Sodom, fire and brimstone rained from the sky to destroy them all. So it will be on the day the Son of Man is revealed. On that day, someone who is on the housetop and whose belongings are in the house must not go down to get them, and likewise one in the field must not return to what was left behind. Remember the wife of Lot. Whoever seeks to preserve his life will lose it, but whoever loses it will save it. I tell you, on that night there will be two people in one bed; one will be taken, the other left. And there will be two women grinding meal together; one will be taken, the other left.” They said to him in reply, “Where, Lord?” He said to them, “Where the body is, there also the vultures will gather.”
MEDITATION
Let us love one another. (2 John 5)
Did you notice that John says, “Let us love one another” (2 John 5)? He includes himself in the exhortation, telling us that everyone is called to love. And actions speak louder than words. It’s not enough to just say, “I love you.” You need to actually do it.
The author of 2 John was probably not John the apostle, but another John, a presbyter, or elder, in a local church. He likely knew some of the people who were eyewitnesses of Jesus’ ministry—maybe even some of the apostles. John is writing out of concern for the brothers and sisters in his church. He rejoiced like a proud parent that they were “walking in the truth” and urged them to “love one another” (2 John 4, 5).
Why did John focus on these concerns? Some believers had stirred up confusion about whether Jesus had really been fully human. Perhaps, they thought, he was just pretending to be a man. As a result, many people were caught up in controversy and were missing the heart of the matter: God loves our humanness so much that he sent his Son to take on our actual flesh and blood. He wanted to be completely human: one of us so that he could be one with us.
If God has so much love for us human beings, then how could the people in John’s church think they didn’t have to love each other—and in practice, not just in theory? This was John’s
point. What we do matters. How we love matters. Sometimes it matters more than what we say we believe.
So when we attend Mass faithfully but speak harshly to a family member at home, we are missing something. Our love for one another is a reflection of our love for God. As John wrote, love is the most important way we can live out our faith.
God loves everyone and wants his love to flow out from you and into your relationships. So stop today, and look at the people around you. Ask God to show you one brother or sister that he wants you to love in a concrete way. Then spend time with them: look them in the eye, listen to their concerns, and care for them with the love that you have received from God.
“Jesus, help me to show your love today.”
Word Among Us
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