In today’s Gospel, Jesus continues His discourse on the coming of the Kingdom of God. He identifies this Kingdom in important ways with the day of the Son of Man. This was Jesus' most frequent self-attribution, indicating a radical self-understanding of divinity.
Reading ‘the signs of the times’ is a key theme in all these verses. Jesus exhorts His followers to not be preoccupied with the wrong things. The focus must always be on the things of God, being attuned to His Spirit, His Way, and His promptings.
Despite the prophetic warnings of Noah, and the very presence of the ark being a harbinger, his contemporaries were completely caught up in wickedness. Likewise, the city of Sodom was enraptured in rebellion. For both of these places, it was not too late until it was too late. The chains of sin are too light to be felt until they are too heavy to be broken. When we orient ourselves in the wrong direction for too long, it starts to feel normal and right. So, we must be vigilant, taking every thought captive (2 Cor 10:5).
The things of the world, most of them good in their proper order, are fleeting and transient. The right move is to leave these things behind for what is worth far more. The vultures gather at the carrion. Losing our life and forsaking all for the Kingdom is how we gain it. This is deeply counterintuitive, showing how far our thoughts and ways are from those of God. Following the Words of the Lord is the only way we will remain in the grace of God on the day of the Son of Man.
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