Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Lectionary: 111
Reading 1
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
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
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
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
You have received a Spirit of adoption,
through which we cry, Abba, Father.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel
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,
God does not want to condemn us but wants to redeem us. He wants to give us every opportunity to enter into a relationship with Him and to experience His love. The conversation between Abraham and God regarding the future of Sodom and Gomorrah is an important aspect of our own relationship with God. There should be no fear of punishment but more a desire to do the right thing. When we do right, things go correctly in our lives. It is when choosing not to live up to the expectations that God has set forth before us when things go wrong. We are the ones who set up obstacles and challenges to a joyous life, all the while welcoming negative thoughts which impede us further. Sin truly does weigh us down and returns us to the brokenness from whence we came. Avoiding sin and choices that might lead us to sin, will force out negative things and will enable us to clearly see what we must do to welcome The Love of God into our hearts. Sodom and Gomorrah reveled in their sin, embracing it while rejecting God. The result of rejecting God and embracing sin is utter destruction. It is a destruction not brought on by God, but by us through our choices. If we don’t want to be destroyed through our thoughts and actions, all we have to do is change them, aligning them to the will of God.
The Apostle Paul describes it so beautifully in his letter today:
“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.”
The heavy lifting has already been done. What is left is for us to realize what Jesus has done for us and act accordingly. We can be alive in Christ and become new creations when we accept that there is so much more to life than that which has their origin in the desires of the flesh. The Cross of Christ remains that undeniable sign that we do not have to fade away with everything else that this world has to offer. Asking, seeking, and knocking. The more we do these things, the more will be able to see how Jesus responds to us. Just as in any relationship, the more familiar we get with Jesus, the more intimate it becomes. This is accomplished by staying engaged with Him. Petition Jesus daily. Search for Him in all things. Pursue Him constantly. He will always respond. This is what He promised. Our thoughts truly determine our lives. If our thoughts are transfixed on Jesus, then only good things can result.
We live in a world of distraction. It is very easy to be overwhelmed by all of the things that compete for our attention. As a society, we are overstimulated and desensitized. Even things that could be considered of critical importance, such as the Corona Virus and the war in Ukraine, soon lose our attention. It is amusing that one of the biggest worries of the Ukrainian Government is that of Ukrainian War Fatigue, as the interests of foreign government and foreign peoples are attracted elsewhere. Our attention span continuously decreases regardless of what the circumstances are. This cannot happen to our faith. We are already facing a society that is becoming more secularized and one that actively pursues an agenda that includes removing the influence of God. We cannot participate in this, but instead must counterbalance this by displaying how important our relationship with God is. Actions speak louder than words. In this case our actions and words must be centered on God. The distractions will then decrease while our spirituality will increase. Being persistent in our faith will be rewarded by the persistent presence of God who will make Himself known to us.
Deacon Tom
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