20261113 LIVING IN TRUTH AND LOVE
13 November 2026, Friday, 32nd Week in Ordinary Time
First reading | 2 John 4-9 |
The commandment which you have heard since the beginning is to live a life of love
It has given me great joy to find that your children have been living the life of truth as we were commanded by the Father. I am writing now, dear lady, not to give you any new commandment, but the one which we were given at the beginning, and to plead: let us love one another.
To love is to live according to his commandments: this is the commandment which you have heard since the beginning, to live a life of love.
There are many deceivers about in the world, refusing to admit that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh. They are the Deceiver; they are the Antichrist. Watch yourselves, or all our work will be lost and not get the reward it deserves. If anybody does not keep within the teaching of Christ but goes beyond it, he cannot have God with him: only those who keep to what he taught can have the Father and the Son with them.
Responsorial Psalm |
Psalm 118(119):1-2,10-11,17-18 |
They are happy who follow God’s law.
They are happy whose life is blameless,
who follow God’s law!
They are happy who do his will,
seeking him with all their hearts.
They are happy who follow God’s law.
I have sought you with all my heart;
let me not stray from your commands.
I treasure your promise in my heart
lest I sin against you.
They are happy who follow God’s law.
Bless your servant and I shall live
and obey your word.
Open my eyes that I may see
the wonders of your law.
They are happy who follow God’s law.
Gospel Acclamation | Heb4:12 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
The word of God is something alive and active:
it can judge secret emotions and thoughts.
Alleluia!
Gospel | Luke 17:26-37 |
When the day comes for the Son of Man to be revealed
Jesus said to the disciples:
‘As it was in Noah’s day, so will it also be in the days of the Son of Man. People were eating and drinking, marrying wives and husbands, right up to the day Noah went into the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all. It will be the same as it was in Lot’s day: people were eating and drinking, buying and selling, planting and building, but the day Lot left Sodom, God rained fire and brimstone from heaven and it destroyed them all. It will be the same when the day comes for the Son of Man to be revealed.
‘When that day comes, anyone on the housetop, with his possessions in the house, must not come down to collect them, nor must anyone in the fields turn back either. Remember Lot’s wife. Anyone who tries to preserve his life will lose it; and anyone who loses it will keep it safe. I tell you, on that night two will be in one bed: one will be taken, the other left; two women will be grinding corn together: one will be taken, the other left.’ The disciples interrupted. ‘Where, Lord?’ they asked. He said, ‘Where the body is, there too will the vultures gather.’
LIVING IN TRUTH AND LOVE
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [2 JOHN 4-9; LUKE 17:26-37]
The Gospel today warns us of the Day of the Lord. When that day comes, it will be inevitable, just as it was in the time of Noah. People “were eating and drinking, marrying wives and husbands, right up to the day Noah went into the ark, and the Flood came and destroyed them all. It will be the same as it was in Lot’s day: people were eating and drinking, buying and selling, planting and building, but the day Lot left Sodom, God rained fire and brimstone from heaven and it destroyed them all.” In other words, the Kingdom of God meets us in our everyday lives. It is about how we live daily, at every moment–whether we allow God to rule our lives or insist on ruling our own. This is why St. Paul writes, “Whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him” (Col 3:17). He also told the Corinthians, “So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do everything for the glory of God” (1 Cor 10:31). Simply put, we must be prepared at all times, because whether He comes to us now in our daily lives or at His final coming, God will meet us whether we are ready or not. We will be judged by how we are living at that very moment.
Not only does the Day of the Lord come inevitably, it will come swiftly as well. No one can escape the Lord’s coming and final judgment. There is no turning back, no time to gather one’s possessions, and no time to look back in regret. Judgment is final and decisive. Hence, “when that day comes, anyone on the housetop, with his possessions in the house, must not come down to collect them, nor must anyone in the fields turn back either. Remember Lot’s wife. Anyone who tries to preserve his life will lose it; and anyone who loses it will keep it safe. I tell you, on that night two women will be grinding corn together: one will be taken, the other left.” Conversely, to lose our life is to gain it. Only those who suffer with Jesus and stand up for Him will save their lives.
For this reason, St. John reminds us that we must walk in truth and live in love: “It has given me great joy to find that your children have been living the life of truth as we were commanded by the Father. I am writing now, dear lady, not to give you any new commandment, but the one which we were given at the beginning, and to plead: let us love one another.” The Christian life is summed up as a life rooted in truth and manifested in love.
Yet we know it is not easy to live a life of truth, because as John says, “There are many deceivers about in the world, refusing to admit that Jesus Christ had come in the flesh. They are the Deceiver; they are the Antichrist.” During John’s time, there were some Christians who could not accept the full humanity of Christ. Yet failing to confess the full humanity of our Lord makes it impossible for us to be saved. Christ saved us not just by being God, but by being truly man. As a true man, He obeyed God even unto death and suffered in every way as a human. He was tempted and tried just like any one of us. Because He has shown us the way, we too can have confidence that we will be saved if we follow Jesus by surrendering our lives to the Father. The author of Hebrews says, “In the days of his flesh, Jesus offered up prayers and supplications, with loud cries and tears, to the one who was able to save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission. Although he was a Son, he learned obedience through what he suffered; and having been made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him” (Heb 5:7-9). Truly, “we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathise with our weaknesses, but we have one who in every respect has been tested as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore approach the throne of grace with boldness, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need” (Heb 4:15-16).
Unless we believe in Christ, who took on human flesh and fulfilled His Father’s will, we will excuse ourselves by claiming we cannot love like Jesus. By holding fast to this truth, however, we are empowered to carry out the commandments of love. St. John says, “To love is to live according to his commandments: this is the commandment which you have heard since the beginning, to live a life of love.” Christ’s coming reveals the love and mercy of God, and through His death and resurrection, He revealed God’s supreme love through His sacrifice on the cross. We, too, who have come to know God’s love for us, can do likewise. John writes, “By this we know that we abide in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit. And we have seen and do testify that the Father has sent his Son as the Saviour of the world. God abides in those who confess that Jesus is the Son of God, and they abide in God. So we have known and believe the love that God has for us” (1 Jn 4:13-16).
Today, we face our own deceivers, both within the Church and in the world. The challenge today is not believing that Jesus is human, but believing that He is God. Today, the world tries to reduce Jesus merely to a man, rather than God. Many religions do not mind Christians claiming that our founder was a good man, just like theirs. And some Christians, in an effort to be amicable, reduce Jesus to just that–a good man. When that happens, Christianity becomes merely another humanitarian religion that teaches people to do good, without necessarily speaking of God, eternal life, or judgement. When we compromise our faith in Jesus as the Son of God–and not merely the Son of Man–we forget the real reason for the Incarnation: to reveal God’s love and mercy through His salvific death on the cross.
Yet the worst deceivers are those who seek to compromise the truth of the Gospel through reductionism and by twisting the Scriptures to suit their preferences. Christians are being pressured to adopt the values of the world as our own, whether regarding marriage, gender, or the culture of life. What is wrong is now proclaimed to be right. Selfishness is often disguised as love, and self-indulgence is proclaimed as freedom. Christians are pressured to compromise their values just to be more acceptable to the world. Yet the Lord has made it clear: “If the world hates you, be aware that it hated me before it hated you. If you belonged to the world, the world would love you as its own. Because you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world–therefore the world hates you. Remember the word that I said to you, ‘Servants are not greater than their master'” (Jn 15:18-20).
For this reason, if we are to walk in authentic love, we must keep the commandments as they were given to us. This is what St. John exhorts us to do: “Watch yourselves, or all our work will be lost and not get the reward it deserves. If anybody does not keep within the teaching of Christ but goes beyond it, he cannot have God with him: only those who keep to what he taught can have the Father and the Son with them.” We must remain faithful to the apostolic teaching founded on the Word of God. We must never make light of Christ’s teaching simply to gain popularity with the world. Allowing ourselves to be swayed by so-called progressive thinking in the name of creativity only causes further confusion. This is why St. John cautions his readers not to welcome false teachers into our midst. Doing so does not mean we lack love; rather, it is our way of signalling that their message is not the Gospel truth the Lord has passed on to us.
We must remain true to ourselves and true to the faith we have received from the apostles and the Church. We must strive to walk in the laws of God, just as the psalmist invites us: “They are happy whose life is blameless, who follow God’s law! They are happy who do his will, seeking him with all their hearts. I have sought you with all my heart; let me not stray from your commands. Open my eyes that I may see the wonders of your law.” Let us be clear: tolerance has its limits if the Church is to maintain her integrity. We can dialogue with and show compassion toward those who disagree with the Gospel. As the Church, however, we must teach our people the truth and nurture them in love, ensuring that our teaching and practice always remain in accord with Scripture and Tradition.
Best Practices for Using the Daily Scripture Reflections
- Encounter God through the spirit of prayer and the scripture by reflecting and praying the Word of God daily. The purpose is to bring you to prayer and to a deeper union with the Lord on the level of the heart.
- Daily reflections when archived will lead many to accumulate all the reflections of the week and pray in one sitting. This will compromise your capacity to enter deeply into the Word of God, as the tendency is to read for knowledge rather than a prayerful reading of the Word for the purpose of developing a personal and affective relationship with the Lord.
- It is more important to pray deeply, not read widely. The current reflections of the day would be more than sufficient for anyone who wants to pray deeply and be led into an intimacy with the Lord.
Note: You may share this reflection with someone. However, please note that reflections are not archived online nor will they be available via email request.
Written by His Eminence, Cardinal William SC Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved.
