Deacon Tom Anthony

Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Lectionary: 111

Reading 1 Gn 18:20-32

In those days, the LORD said: "The outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is so great,
and their sin so grave,
that I must go down and see whether or not their actions
fully correspond to the cry against them that comes to me.
I mean to find out."

While Abraham's visitors walked on farther toward Sodom,
the LORD remained standing before Abraham.
Then Abraham drew nearer and said:
"Will you sweep away the innocent with the guilty?
Suppose there were fifty innocent people in the city;
would you wipe out the place, rather than spare it
for the sake of the fifty innocent people within it?
Far be it from you to do such a thing,
to make the innocent die with the guilty
so that the innocent and the guilty would be treated alike!
Should not the judge of all the world act with justice?"
The LORD replied,
"If I find fifty innocent people in the city of Sodom,
I will spare the whole place for their sake."
Abraham spoke up again:
"See how I am presuming to speak to my Lord,
though I am but dust and ashes!
What if there are five less than fifty innocent people?
Will you destroy the whole city because of those five?"
He answered, "I will not destroy it, if I find forty-five there."
But Abraham persisted, saying "What if only forty are found there?"
He replied, "I will forbear doing it for the sake of the forty."
Then Abraham said, "Let not my Lord grow impatient if I go on.
What if only thirty are found there?"
He replied, "I will forbear doing it if I can find but thirty there."
Still Abraham went on,
"Since I have thus dared to speak to my Lord,
what if there are no more than twenty?"
The LORD answered, "I will not destroy it, for the sake of the twenty."
But he still persisted:
"Please, let not my Lord grow angry if I speak up this last time.
What if there are at least ten there?"
He replied, "For the sake of those ten, I will not destroy it."

Responsorial Psalm Ps 138:1-2, 2-3, 6-7, 7-8

R.(3a) Lord, on the day I called for help, you answered me.
I will give thanks to you, O LORD, with all my heart,
for you have heard the words of my mouth;
in the presence of the angels I will sing your praise;
I will worship at your holy temple
and give thanks to your name.
R. Lord, on the day I called for help, you answered me.
Because of your kindness and your truth;
for you have made great above all things
your name and your promise.
When I called you answered me;
you built up strength within me.
R. Lord, on the day I called for help, you answered me.
The LORD is exalted, yet the lowly he sees,
and the proud he knows from afar.
Though I walk amid distress, you preserve me;
against the anger of my enemies you raise your hand.
R. Lord, on the day I called for help, you answered me.
Your right hand saves me.
The LORD will complete what he has done for me;
your kindness, O LORD, endures forever;
forsake not the work of your hands.
R. Lord, on the day I called for help, you answered me.

Reading 2 Col 2:12-14

Brothers and sisters:
You were buried with him in baptism,
in which you were also raised with him
through faith in the power of God,
who raised him from the dead.
And even when you were dead
in transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh,
he brought you to life along with him,
having forgiven us all our transgressions;
 obliterating the bond against us, with its legal claims,
which was opposed to us,
he also removed it from our midst, nailing it to the cross.

Alleluia Rom 8:15bc

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
You have received a Spirit of adoption,
through which we cry, Abba, Father.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel Lk 11:1-13         

Jesus was praying in a certain place, and when he had finished,
one of his disciples said to him,
"Lord, teach us to pray just as John taught his disciples."
He said to them, "When you pray, say:
Father, hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come.
Give us each day our daily bread
and forgive us our sins
for we ourselves forgive everyone in debt to us,
and do not subject us to the final test."

And he said to them, "Suppose one of you has a friend
to whom he goes at midnight and says,
'Friend, lend me three loaves of bread,
for a friend of mine has arrived at my house from a journey
and I have nothing to offer him,'
and he says in reply from within,
'Do not bother me; the door has already been locked
and my children and I are already in bed.
I cannot get up to give you anything.'
I tell you,
if he does not get up to give the visitor the loaves
because of their friendship,
he will get up to give him whatever he needs
because of his persistence.

"And I tell you, ask and you will receive;
seek and you will find;
knock and the door will be opened to you.
For everyone who asks, receives;
and the one who seeks, finds;
and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.
What father among you would hand his son a snake
when he asks for a fish?
Or hand him a scorpion when he asks for an egg?
If you then, who are wicked,
know how to give good gifts to your children,
how much more will the Father in heaven
give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him?"

My Brothers and Sisters,

The words of the Apostle Paul should give us great comfort and also remind us daily what Jesus Christ has done for us. Paul writes,

“And even when you were dead
in transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh,
he brought you to life along with him,
having forgiven us all our transgressions;
 obliterating the bond against us, with its legal claims,
which was opposed to us,”

What an amazing choice of words! All the bonds against us were obliterated and we were brought to life with Him. This is our birthright and this is what should define us always as Christians. What He did for us was no small thing and it is something that we should thank Him for daily. Obliterated means that the fear of death and the Gates of Hell have no power over us. We have achieved salvation, forgiveness, and a new life by just recognizing Jesus and accepting Him for who He is. All the work has been done for us and what remains is an invitation for us to take what is being offered to us and live our lives with that knowledge.

Jesus also offers us a promise that whatever we need will be provided to us. Whatever we ask for will be given. Whatever we seek will be found.  A life with Jesus dispels the anxiety and fear that would otherwise plague us because He has made these promises to us and He would never break them. As we strengthen our relationship with Him we will come to a deeper understanding that what He says is true. Yes, there will be times when we will question what He says and what is written in Sacred Scripture but it is during these times that we should pray even more; acting out our faith-life in earnest like the man knocking at his friend’s door looking for bread. When we feel lost or do not feel the presence of Jesus is when we should seek Him even more. When we do it more it is guaranteed that more will come to us.

There is a large amount of responsibility with being a Christian. When we come into relationship with Jesus Christ our actions and conduct should reflect how important Jesus is to us. Things are not done out of obligation but out of love. If we find ourselves doing the wrong things or engaging in sin then we must reflect on our relationship with Jesus and ask ourselves how we can make it stronger or experience it more in our lives. One of the ways is to acknowledge our sins and make a commitment to do better in the future knowing that He has forgiven us and is actively trying to heal us even before our acknowledgment is complete. That in itself should be comforting and an aspect of the healing process: knowing He is always with us and will do everything necessary for us to be completely healed from our self-inflicted wounds.

Psalm 138 puts our relationship with Jesus in full perspective:

“Lord, on the day I called for help, you answered me”

Every day we can cry for help through prayer and the professing of our love for Him. It further shows how whatever situation that we find ourselves in can and will be solved by Him for us. He has given us life, love, and cause for celebration. The celebration begins when we recognize the love He has for us and then show how much we love Him in return. With that a new way of living is revealed that will give us the greatest amount of joy and fulfillment; more than anything in this world can offer. Jesus wants to solve all of our problems. He also wants us to understand that there wouldn’t be any problems in the first place if we didn’t turn away from Him to do what we wanted to do instead of what He wanted us to do. It is time to stop fighting against what Jesus wants. It is time to give Him what He wants. It is pretty easy because all He wants is for us to love Him. In return we will then be able to fully receive His love for us which was always here to begin with.

Deacon Tom