37 As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. 38 For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; 39 and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. 40 Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left. 41 Two women will be grinding with a hand mill; one will be taken and the other left. 42 “Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. 43 But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into. 44 So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.
Like the first reading, this Sunday’s gospel focuses on the end times (also called the Parousia). Jesus first employs a simile to describe the Second Coming, comparing it to Noah’s time. Usually, biblical writers stress the sinfulness of Noah’s world that led to its destruction but here, Jesus focuses on how unexpected it was. People were just going about their lives and then, suddenly, catastrophe.
In verses 40 to 42, Jesus describes the division that will occur at his return: one man (or woman) doing the same thing will be taken while the other will not. Why? We soon learn that one was prepared and the other wasn’t. However similar people may seem, God’s judgment sees beneath the surface into the heart. Of course, Jesus doesn’t tell us what happens to them after the separation. We don’t know if one was taken to be punished and the other rewarded.
The final illustration that Jesus gives us, he presents as a parable. The Son of Man will come unexpectedly, like a thief in the night and so we must be prepared. Obviously, Jesus is not saying we should never sleep but rather that we should not take God for granted. We like to imagine that we have control over our life, but our control is very limited. Advent is about preparation – preparation for the arrival of our Savior – who appeared unexpectedly in a stable in Bethlehem. To help with to prepare, the blog’s prayers and thoughts of the day will all be focused on Advent.
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