He Is Waiting! He Knows Us By Name

First Reading: Genesis 18:20-32
The Lord said, ‘How great an outcry there is against Sodom and Gomorrah! How grievous is their sin! I propose to go down and see whether or not they have done all that is alleged in the outcry against them that has come up to me. I am determined to know.’

The men left there and went to Sodom while Abraham remained standing before the Lord. Approaching him he said, ‘Are you really going to destroy the just man with the sinner? Perhaps there are fifty just men in the town. Will you really overwhelm them, will you not spare the place for the fifty just men in it? Do not think of doing such a thing: to kill the just man with the sinner, treating just and sinner alike! Do not think of it! Will the judge of the whole earth not administer justice?’ the Lord replied, ‘If at Sodom I find fifty just men in the town, I will spare the whole place because of them’.

Abraham replied, M am bold indeed to speak like this to my Lord, I who am dust and ashes. But perhaps the fifty just men lack five: will you destroy the whole city for five?’ ‘No,’ he replied ‘I will not destroy it if I find forty-five just men there.’ Again Abraham said to him, ‘Perhaps there will only be forty there’. ‘I will not do it’ he replied ‘for the sake of the forty.’

Abraham said, ‘I trust my Lord will not be angry, but give me leave to speak: perhaps there will only be thirty there’. ‘I will not do it’ he replied ‘if I find thirty there.’ He said, ‘I am bold indeed to speak like this, but perhaps there will only be twenty there’. ‘I will not destroy it’ he replied ‘for the sake of the twenty.’ He said, ‘I trust my Lord will not be angry if I speak once more: perhaps there will only be ten’. ‘I will not destroy it’ he replied ‘for the sake of the ten.’

Second Reading: Colossians 2:12-14
You have been buried with Christ, when you were baptised; and by baptism, too, you have been raised up with him through your belief in the power of God who raised him from the dead. You were dead, because you were sinners and had not been circumcised: he has brought you to life with him, he has forgiven us all our sins.

He has overridden the Law, and cancelled every record of the debt that we had to pay; he has done away with it by nailing it to the cross.

Gospel: Luke 11:1-13
Once Jesus was in a certain place praying, and when he had finished one of his disciples said, ‘Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples’. He said to them, ‘Say this when you pray:

“Father, may your name be held holy,
your kingdom come;
give us each day our daily bread,
and forgive us our sins,
for we ourselves forgive each one who is in debt to us.
And do not put us to the test.”’

He also said to them, ‘Suppose one of you has a friend and goes to him in the middle of the night to say, “My friend, lend me three loaves, because a friend of mine on his travels has just arrived at my house and I have nothing to offer him”; and the man answers from inside the house, “Do not bother me. The door is bolted now, and my children and I are in bed; I cannot get up to give it you”. I tell you, if the man does not get up and give it him for friendship’s sake, persistence will be enough to make him get up and give his friend all he wants.

‘So I say to you: Ask, and it will be given to you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened to you. For the one who asks always receives; the one who searches always finds; the one who knocks will always have the door opened to him. What father among you would hand his son a stone when he asked for bread? Or hand him a snake instead of a fish? Or hand him a scorpion if he asked for an egg? If you then, who are evil, know how to give your children what is good, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!’


Reflection:
By Anabelle Payod-Balla

If someone would ask the question, who is the best father in the world, I would proudly respond, “My father!”

I belong to a poor family but throughout my early years, I rarely felt the difficulties of being poor. I was not aware how hard our life was because my mother and father were always there providing for our needs.

It was only when I started entering maturity that I realized how much sacrifices and hard work my parents have put in just to get us through. I learned how my father walked all the way from Ermita, Manila to our home in Gagalangin one day because there’s no money left to pay for a jeepney ride back and with just three scoops of dirty ice cream for lunch. For days, he had kept on walking and trying to get a good job that will pull us through. I didn’t know about it until just lately.

We are poor, life was difficult but all of us, my two brothers and elder sister, graduated with a college degree. My parents made it happen. What great love they have for all of us their children!

I feel so loved. And what more if I have another Father who is zillion times better than my birth father? Who knows my innermost thoughts and wishes without telling Him? Whose love is so great that He even sent His only son to save us all? And guess what? He can be your Father as well. You just need to acknowledge and accept Him and keep Him close to your heart.

God, our Father in heaven who created us in His image, has shown His compassion and kindness to His children many times in the Bible. One great example can be found in our First Reading where He spared Sodom because of ten good people. The Second Reading also tells us how He forgives all our sins through Christ. He even cancelled the record of our debts!

What a magnificent Father we have up there! His blessings and love is always there for us, waiting in abundance. We just need to ask, seek Him, and knock on His door and He’ll open it for us, welcoming us with His loving arms.

Father, how I long to see Your face and be cuddled in Your warm embrace. Direct me to You each day. I want to be filled with your loving kindness always. Thank you for giving me my birth mother and father, for giving me Your blessings under their care. I love you Father in my own little ways. Amen.

Come, let us go to God, our Father. He is waiting, He knows us by name.