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."
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.
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?"
Meditation: Luke 11:1-13
“Ask. Seek. Knock.” (Luke 11:9)
We all have our limits. Even with our own children, we have only so much patience. Sometimes we just get worn out and can lose our cool with them.
Isn’t it amazing, then, to hear Jesus say that our heavenly Father has unlimited patience? Isn’t it astounding that he tells us to go ahead and wear God out with our requests?
Despite these assurances, we can still find it hard to keep on asking, seeking, and knocking on heaven’s door. We still love God and trust him, but a sense of fate or common sense can overcome simple, trusting faith in the God of the impossible. We get worn out quickly or we lose our focus. Perhaps we spend a day or two on a petition, but we are nothing like the persistent neighbor with his nighttime request.
Brothers and sisters, God wants us to bombard him with our petitions every day. He assures us that we cannot overdo it. Part of the solution to problems like abortion, war, illness, broken families, and grinding poverty is constant, persistent, unrelenting prayer. Our Father wants to give us good gifts. He wants to help us with our problems. So be persistent. Go to him every day, and ask and ask and ask. Never stop asking. Never give up. Never lose hope.
“I thank you, Lord, with all my heart… . When I cried out, you answered; you strengthened my spirit.” So prayed the psalmist in today’s readings (Psalm 138:1,3). Surely we too can cry out to heaven with patience and persistence. Surely we too can keep on asking, seeking, and knocking. Why? Because “the Lord is on high, but cares for the lowly” (138:6). That’s each one of us. He will never leave us wanting!
“Father, we ask you to heal our wounded, suffering world. Pour out grace from your throne, and renew the face of the earth. We will never stop praising you, for we know that you are faithful to the end.”
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Questions for Individual Reflection or Group Discussion
(Genesis 18:20-32, Psalm 138:1-3,6-8, Colossians 2:12-14, Luke 11:1-13)
1. In the first reading, we discover that Abraham had such an intimate relationship with the Lord that he was willing to contend with Him on the fate of Sodom and Gomorrah. The Lord is calling all Christians to this same kind of intimate relationship with Him. How would you characterize your relationship with Jesus Christ? With your Heavenly Father? How can these relationships be deepened in your life?
2. In the responsorial psalm, we hear these words, “The Lord will complete what he has done for me; your kindness endures forever; forsake not the work of your hands” (Psalm 138:7-8). These words echo St. Paul’s words in Philippians 1:6, “I am confident of this, that the one who began a good work in you will continue to complete it until the day of Christ Jesus.” How would you describe your trust and confidence in the Lord that he will complete the work he has begun in you?
3. In the letter to the Colossians, St. Paul says that God has “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” (Colossians 2:13-14). Do you believe that through Baptism and faith in Jesus Christ, all your sins were nailed to the cross? In what way does (or does not) this truth of our faith influence how you live out your day?
4. In the Gospel reading, Jesus gives his disciples the perfect prayer, the Our Father, in response to his disciples’ request: “Lord, teach us to pray.” When we say the Our Father each Sunday at Mass we ask the Father to “forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us.” Matthew 6:14-15, which are the verses immediately following the Our Father, goes on to say that, “If you forgive others their transgressions, your heavenly Father will forgive you. But if you do not forgive others, neither will your Father forgive your transgressions.” What is your reaction to these words? If there is anyone you need to forgive? Don’t delay – do it now.
5. The meditation ends with these words, “Surely we too can cry out to heaven with patience and persistence. Surely we too can keep on asking, seeking, and knocking. Why? Because ‘the Lord is on high, but cares for the lowly’ (138:6). That’s each one of us. He will never leave us wanting!” How patient and persistent are you in your prayers? What steps can you take to increase your patience and persistence?
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