This week's Gospel talks about the hour at which the Son of Man will return. At that hour, one man will be "taken" and another left beside him in the field. One woman grinding at the mill will be "taken" and the other left behind.
Scholars have debated the destination of those who are "taken". Are they brought to judgment or salvation? The Gospel isn't clear.
In some sense, I don't know that it matters. I think that the point of the Gospel is that we don't want to be away from that which we love, be that God or other people. In some sense, we neither want to be taken nor left behind if God and our loved ones are in "the other place". I have sometimes thought: if Heaven is not a place where I can kiss my wife and kids on the tops of their heads, I'm not interested.
One of the most painful things in the world is being separated. Separated from people we love, from our homes, from familiar surroundings. This is part of the reason that people dread going to jail; jail is a place where people are away from most everything which they love. It is a place of desolation for many.
So, let us seek to be in consolation with the Lord, not in the desolation which is being away from Him. I think that the best way to be in consolation with God is to acknowledge God's presence in our lives, be thankful for it, and do our best to turn toward Him.
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