Catechism Links[1]
CCC 2634-2636: prayer of intercession
CCC 2566-2567: universal call to prayer
CCC 2761-2772: the Lord’s Prayer as a synthesis of Gospel
CCC 2609-2610, 2613, 2777-2785: turning to God with persistence and filial trust
CCC 2654: lectio divina
CCC 537, 628, 1002, 1227: buried and risen in baptism
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| “Sodom and Gomorrah” Artist and Date are UNKNOWN |
Commentary:
Reading 1 Genesis 18:20-32
Commentary on Gn 18:20-32
This selection continues the story of Abraham’s encounter with the Lord at the terebinth of Mamre. The Lord and two messengers have already predicted the birth of a son to Abraham and Sarah. They now have departed for Sodom and Gomorrah joined by Abraham “to see them on their way.” The text envisions God coming down to see what punishment must come to the cities. While the sin of Sodom and Gomorrah is not specifically known (the account from Genesis says homosexuality (Genesis 19:4-5), Isaiah indicates the lack of social justice (Isaiah 1:9-10; 3:9), Ezekiel says disregard for the poor (Ezekiel 16:46-51), and Jeremiah identifies general immorality (Jeremiah 23:14)).
“Will you sweep away the innocent with the guilty?” In early Israel it was common for the innocent to be punished along with the guilty (see Joshua 7:16-26). We find Moses challenging this idea, interceding for the innocent who reside in those cities. The Lord agrees to spare them if there are 10 innocent people from those towns.
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Responsorial Psalm Psalm 138:1-2, 2-3, 6-7, 7-8
R. (3a) Lord, on the day I called for help, you answered me.
Commentary on Ps 138:1-2, 2-3, 6-7, 7-8
Psalm 138 is a song of thanksgiving. In this selection we find an individual hymn thanking God for salvation. We note the belief in angels, messengers of God, who join the song of praise in the holy temple. The psalmist sees God’s protection and mercy as being eternal, “…your kindness, O Lord, endures forever,” and a profound faith that God, creator of mankind, should not forsake what he has created and adopted, “….the work of your hands.”
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Reading II Colossians 2:12-14
Commentary on Col 2:12-14
St. Paul refers to the “death of baptism” (see also Romans 6:1-11). He is referring to the process whereby the baptized die to their sins and rise as new creations. He places this effect in the present, that is, the risen Christ has already transformed them through his adoption. Paul also talks about “… obliterating the bond against us, with its legal claims.” This is a reference to breaking or transgressing against Mosaic Law, and the proscribed punishments for such violations.
CCC: Col 2:11-13 527; Col 2:12 628, 1002, 1214, 1227, 1694
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Gospel Luke 11:1-13
Commentary on Lk 11:1-13
The focus of this passage from the Gospel of Luke is prayer. First, we are given the Lord’s Prayer from Luke’s Gospel, which differs somewhat from the same prayer offered in Matthew’s Gospel (Matthew 6:9-15). We are taken further, in this case, to be reminded that God answers prayers. He does this as a parable, and then in a litany of assurances.
Notes on the meaning of the various parts of the prayer are numerous. The short message in the Gospel is: “This is an appropriate way to speak to God.” It begins with an acknowledgement of God’s existence and omnipotence, praising his holiness. It continues with our further desire that the “will of God,” which creates his Heavenly Kingdom, may also rule on earth.
Next follows three petitions. The first is a petition to the Father that we be given nourishment; food for the body and (Eucharistic) food for the spirit, ”our daily bread.” This petition is followed by a plea for forgiveness, a tacit admission that we have all sinned and all need God’s salvation. The second part of this petition is a promise on the part of the petitioner, to attempt to follow Christ’s example, forgiving others as they have been forgiven. The prayer concludes with a final petition not to be tested as our Lord was tested by the evil one, who encouraged Jesus to forego his own passion and thus condemn the world to sin and death.
Next, Jesus uses the story of one friend asking another for bread (a strong Eucharistic reference) in the middle of the night. The parable is used as an instrument to tell them that God will always answer prayers, but in his own time (“I tell you, if he does not get up to give him the loaves because of their friendship, he will get up to give him whatever he needs because of his persistence”). He makes his message clear in the verses that follow, “ask and you will receive.”
CCC: Lk 11:1 520, 2601, 2759, 2773; Lk 11:2-4 2759; Lk 11:2 2632; Lk 11:4 1425, 2845; Lk 11:5-13 2613; Lk 11:9 2761; Lk 11:13 443, 728, 2623, 2671
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Reflection:
The readings today speak of the efficacy of prayer and our call to be a people of prayer. This call starts, as we hear in St. Paul’s Letter to the Colossians, with our baptism in Christ and the resulting death to sin, rebirth to innocence in the Holy Spirit, and the grace provided in that resurrection. As a new creation, Christ tells us in the Gospel of St. Luke, we are called to be people of prayer.
Do we ask, “Lord teach us to pray? “ No, because that question is already answered. In scripture today it is answered three times! First, we hear Moses in what is perhaps one of the first intercessory prayers as he talks to God’s messengers who are sent to investigate the prayerful cries against Sodom and Gomorrah. He pleads with God to spare the innocent, and his prayers are answered. (Note, his prayer is not answered in the way he thought it would be. Moses thought that if there were innocent people in those cities the Lord would spare the city. Instead, he told Lott and his family to leave and destroyed the cities nonetheless.)
The second prayer scripture gives us today is in song. Psalm 138 is a beautiful example of how we praise God in song. For those in Holy Orders and in vowed religious life, the Psalms are sung (said) at least twice a day in the prayer of the Church, the Liturgy of the Hours. This prayer form offers up, in a very real way, the words of our ancestors, echoed through all the ages of the Church, a song of praise and thanksgiving, constantly floating up to our Heavenly Father as each successive region takes up the chant.
Finally, in the Gospel, the Lord offers us the Lord’s Prayer. We note it starts with a blessing of praise to the Father, Holy is His Name. We pray that the Kingdom of God might come to us, here on earth, so we may live in the purity and joy of the Heavenly Kingdom. We then ask God for our needs, both spiritual and physical as we reference bread for our bodies and bread for our souls in the Eucharist. Finally we ask for forgiveness, and the strength to forgive others as Christ has done. Finally, we pray most fervently that we not be required to face the same test as our savior.
This compact prayer that we utter most frequently (and in many cases without thinking) is the template upon which the Lord tells us to speak with God. Most important in the Gospel passage is the assurance from God’s only Son that our prayers will be answered. That promise is our great hope and the hope of all the faithful. Today, may our prayers rise up to God and his grace flow back to us. As a people of prayer may we always have faith in the gentle Father who hears our call and answers.
Pax
In other years on this date: Optional Memorial of Saint Sharbel Makhlue, Priest
[1] Catechism links are taken from the Homiletic Directory, Published by the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, 29 June 2014
[2] The picture today is “Sodom and Gomorrah” Artist and Date are UNKNOWN
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