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| “Abraham and the Three Angles” by Giambattista Tiepolo, 1770 |
Abraham and the men who had visited him by the Terebinth of Mamre
set out from there and looked down toward Sodom
Abraham was walking with them, to see them on their way.
The Lord reflected: “Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to
do,
now that he is to become a great and populous nation,
and all the nations of the earth are to find blessing in him?
Indeed, I have singled him out
that he may direct his children and his household after him
to keep the way of the Lord
by doing what is right and just,
so that the Lord may carry into effect for Abraham
the promises he made about him.”
Then the Lord said:
“The outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah
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 the two men walked on farther toward Sodom
the Lord remained standing before Abraham.
Then Abraham drew nearer to him 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 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?”
He 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.”
The Lord departed as soon as he had finished speaking with
Abraham,
and Abraham returned home.
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Commentary on Gn 18:16-33
Following the fulfillment of their promise to Abraham and Sarah ("I will surely return
to you about this time next year, and Sarah will then have a son." Genesis
18:10), the Messengers of the Lord leave the hospitality of his tent. Lead by Abraham, they travel together to
where Lot and his household had gone (Genesis 13:12) and prepare
to punish the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah for their sinfulness. Abraham, for his part attempts to negotiate
for the cities asking for mercy for the innocent. He is successful, demonstrating the mercy of
God to the innocent.
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R. (8a) The Lord is kind and merciful.
Bless the Lord, O my soul;
and all my being, bless his holy name.
Bless the Lord, O my soul,
and forget not all his benefits.
R. The Lord is
kind and merciful.
He pardons all your iniquities,
he heals all your ills.
He redeems your life from destruction,
he crowns you with kindness and compassion.
R. The Lord is
kind and merciful.
Merciful and gracious is the Lord
slow to anger and abounding in kindness.
He will not always chide,
nor does he keep his wrath forever.
R. The Lord is
kind and merciful.
Not according to our sins does he deal with us,
nor does he requite us according to our crimes.
For as the heavens are high above the earth,
so surpassing is his kindness toward those who fear him.
R. The Lord is
kind and merciful.
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Commentary on Ps 103:1b-2, 3-4, 8-9, 10-11
Psalm 103 is a hymn of praise and thanksgiving. Remembering God’s promise of mercy for the
innocent, the psalmist praises God for his compassion and gives thanks for his
salvation. It is not by human merit that
God judges, but out of compassion and mercy.
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When Jesus saw a crowd around him,
he gave orders to cross to the other shore.
A scribe approached and said to him,
“Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go.”
Jesus answered him, “Foxes have dens and birds of the sky have
nests,
but the Son of Man has nowhere to rest his head.”
Another of his disciples said to him,
“Lord, let me go first and bury my father.”
But Jesus answered him, “Follow me,
and let the dead bury their dead.”
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Commentary on Mt 8:18-22
We come to an interlude between the miracle stories in St.
Matthew’s Gospel. In this passage we
find two sayings dealing with discipleship and what that means. The first of these is in the form of a reply
to a scribe who wished to travel with the Lord.
The Savior’s response indicated that he must be prepared to have no
permanent home if he was going to do so.
He must give up material wealth.
In the second situation, the would-be disciple asks to be allowed
to bury his father. This does not mean
his father had already died but that he wished to wait for that to happen so he
could carry out his family responsibilities.
The Lord’s response makes it clear that ties to the family would be
secondary to the disciples call to follow him (see also commentary on Luke
9:57-62).
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Reflection:
The
whole idea of spiritual leadership is presented in broad brush strokes in
today’s scripture. In the first reading
God is intending to punish the people of Sodom
and Gomorrah
Just
as Abraham did not judge those who lived in the accursed cities, we are not to
judge those whose actions proclaim them to be godless. Ours, as our Savior taught us, is a role of
intercession even for our enemies.
The
second part of the lesson plan for discipleship comes from the Gospel of
Matthew. Jesus responds first to the
scribe telling him that if he wishes to follow the Way he must have as his
first priority the Kingdom
of God
The
final lesson on spiritual leadership takes the focus on the Lord further,
eclipsing even our ties to family. If
our efforts are first for God all else will fall into place. If we place anything else first in our lives,
this emphasis will be clearly visible to other as well.
Pax
[2]
The picture today is “Abraham and the Three Angles” by Giambattista Tiepolo,
1770
[3]
The readings are taken from the New American Bible with the exception of the
Psalm and its response which were developed by the International Committee for
English in Liturgy (ICEL). This re-publication is not authorized by USCCB and
is for private use only.
