The Lord said, “How great is the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah and how very grave their sin! I must go down and see whether they have done altogether according to the outcry that has come to me; and if not, I will know.” So the men turned from there, and went toward Sodom, while Abraham remained standing before the Lord.
Then Abraham came near and said, “Will you indeed sweep away the righteous with the wicked? Suppose there are fifty righteous within the city; will you then sweep away the place and not forgive it for the fifty righteous who are in it? Far be it from you to do such a thing, to slay the righteous with the wicked, so that the righteous fare as the wicked! Far be that from you! Shall not the Judge of all the earth do what is just?” And the Lord said, “If I find at Sodom fifty righteous in the city, I will forgive the whole place for their sake.”
Abraham answered, “Let me take it upon myself to speak to the Lord, I who am but dust and ashes. Suppose five of the fifty righteous are lacking? Will you destroy the whole city for lack of five?” And he said, “I will not destroy it if I find forty-five there.” Again he spoke to him, “Suppose forty are found there.” He answered, “For the sake of forty I will not do it.” Then he said, “Oh do not let the Lord be angry if I speak. Suppose thirty are found there.” He answered, “I will not do it, if I find thirty there.”
He said, “Let me take it upon myself to speak to the Lord. Suppose twenty are found there.” He answered, “For the sake of twenty I will not destroy it.” Then he said, “Oh do not let the Lord be angy if I speak just once more. Suppose ten are found there.” He answered, “For the sake of ten I will not destroy it.”
Second reading Colossians 2:12-14
Then Abraham came near and said, “Will you indeed sweep away the righteous with the wicked? Suppose there are fifty righteous within the city; will you then sweep away the place and not forgive it for the fifty righteous who are in it? Far be it from you to do such a thing, to slay the righteous with the wicked, so that the righteous fare as the wicked! Far be that from you! Shall not the Judge of all the earth do what is just?” And the Lord said, “If I find at Sodom fifty righteous in the city, I will forgive the whole place for their sake.”
Abraham answered, “Let me take it upon myself to speak to the Lord, I who am but dust and ashes. Suppose five of the fifty righteous are lacking? Will you destroy the whole city for lack of five?” And he said, “I will not destroy it if I find forty-five there.” Again he spoke to him, “Suppose forty are found there.” He answered, “For the sake of forty I will not do it.” Then he said, “Oh do not let the Lord be angry if I speak. Suppose thirty are found there.” He answered, “I will not do it, if I find thirty there.”
He said, “Let me take it upon myself to speak to the Lord. Suppose twenty are found there.” He answered, “For the sake of twenty I will not destroy it.” Then he said, “Oh do not let the Lord be angy if I speak just once more. Suppose ten are found there.” He answered, “For the sake of ten I will not destroy it.”
Second reading Colossians 2:12-14
When you were buried with him in baptism, you were also raised with him through faith in the power of God, who raised him from the dead. And when you were dead in trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you alive together with him, when he forgave us all our trespasses, erasing the record that stood against us with its legal demands. He set this aside, nailing it to the cross.
Jesus was praying in a certain place, and when he had finished one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his followers.” 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 indebted to us. And do not bring us to the time of trial.”
And he said to them, “Suppose one of you has a friend, and you go to him at midnight and say to him, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves of bread; for a friend of mine has arrived, and I have nothing to set before him.’ And he answers from within, ‘Do not bother me; the door has already been locked, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot get up and give you anything.’ I tell you, even though he will not get up and give him anything because he is his friend, at least because of his persistence he will get up and give him whatever he needs.”
“So I say to you, Ask, and it will be given you search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you. For everyone who asks receives, and everyone who searches finds, and for everyone who knocks, the door will be opened. Is there anyone among you who, if your child asks for a fish, will give a snake instead of a fish? Or if the child asks for an egg, will give a scorpion? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”
And he said to them, “Suppose one of you has a friend, and you go to him at midnight and say to him, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves of bread; for a friend of mine has arrived, and I have nothing to set before him.’ And he answers from within, ‘Do not bother me; the door has already been locked, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot get up and give you anything.’ I tell you, even though he will not get up and give him anything because he is his friend, at least because of his persistence he will get up and give him whatever he needs.”
“So I say to you, Ask, and it will be given you search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you. For everyone who asks receives, and everyone who searches finds, and for everyone who knocks, the door will be opened. Is there anyone among you who, if your child asks for a fish, will give a snake instead of a fish? Or if the child asks for an egg, will give a scorpion? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”
Reflection
By Jose Paulo M. Gonzales
In the Gospel for today, Jesus imparts with us a prayer staple to the Christian community. This is the Lord’s Prayer.
The Lord’s Prayer is important to us, Christians, because it came directly from God. And because the Lord’s Prayer impresses values worth cultivating every day, even when we are in prayer.
What does the Lord’s Prayer remind us of?
The Lord’s Prayer, first and foremost, reminds us to be loving and adoring of God the Father. We show our sheer gratefulness to the Author of the world and the life we breathe when we exhort, “Our Father, who art in Heaven, hallowed be Your Name.”
When we say, “Your Kingdom come, Your Will be done on Earth as it is in Heaven”, we are reminded to live here on Earth as if we are already in Heaven. We live in hopeful expectation here on Earth, running on faith that God has given us eternal life through the ultimate sacrifice He made. He only asks that we love others as He loves us (John 13:34-35), so that as we share God’s love with others, we can all enjoy His eternal grace—His Kingdom.
When we say, “Please give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses”, we are reminded of our need for supplication, for our bodily hunger—daily bread, and for our spiritual hunger—forgiveness. The bread the Lord gives fills not only the body, but also the spirit, which, may be struggling and wailing from the guilt of unrepented sin. Do we recognize how precious the Lord’s bread is? If we understand how binding and guilt-driving sin can be, we would realize how liberating God’s bread truly is.
When we say, “As we forgive those who trespass against us”, we are reminded to forgive our brothers and sisters as God graciously forgives us, seventy-seven times even (Matthew 18:22), as if to signify perfection. While perfect forgiveness is a divine feat, we can forgive perfectly when we forgive persistently. The slights made by others may stings, but we God who is faithful to heal our pains. “He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds” (Psalm 147:3). “The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit” (Psalm 34:18).
The more we forgive others and even ourselves, the more we learn how to dislodge pain. The more we forgive, the more we get to live freely.
Finally, as the Lord’s Prayer closes when we say, “Please lead us not into the test and please deliver us from evil”, we are reminded of our human limitations. And in our humble acceptance of these limitations, we pray for deliverance from the evil one.
Besides the Lord’s Prayer, the Gospel for today gives us more reason to live in hope. God’s yes is available to those who persist.
In Luke 18:1-8, we are told of the story of a widow. Where she lives, there was an unjust judge “who neither feared God nor cared what people thought” (Luke 18:2). The widow frequented the judge for justice to be granted to her against her enemy. The judge refused her visit after visit, but after some time, he granted her plea: “Because this widow keeps bothering me, I will see that she gets justice, so that she won’t eventually come and attack me!” (Luke 18:4-5).
Justice was granted to the widow who persisted even at a time when the culture was not benevolent to her kind.
This is the faith we have in Christ; that we have a Lawyer who pleads our case (Lamentations 3:58), who knows us far better than we know ourselves […] who keeps us present before God (Romans 8:27), in Whom our Father is well-pleased (Matthew 3:17), and in Whom we can “approach God's throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need” (Hebrews 4:16).
Friends, it may be difficult to persist in asking God for a certain grace but may we hope that in our next prayer, His answer will be given. For if God can grant to one who asks, what more to one who persists?
The Lord’s Prayer is important to us, Christians, because it came directly from God. And because the Lord’s Prayer impresses values worth cultivating every day, even when we are in prayer.
What does the Lord’s Prayer remind us of?
The Lord’s Prayer, first and foremost, reminds us to be loving and adoring of God the Father. We show our sheer gratefulness to the Author of the world and the life we breathe when we exhort, “Our Father, who art in Heaven, hallowed be Your Name.”
When we say, “Your Kingdom come, Your Will be done on Earth as it is in Heaven”, we are reminded to live here on Earth as if we are already in Heaven. We live in hopeful expectation here on Earth, running on faith that God has given us eternal life through the ultimate sacrifice He made. He only asks that we love others as He loves us (John 13:34-35), so that as we share God’s love with others, we can all enjoy His eternal grace—His Kingdom.
When we say, “Please give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses”, we are reminded of our need for supplication, for our bodily hunger—daily bread, and for our spiritual hunger—forgiveness. The bread the Lord gives fills not only the body, but also the spirit, which, may be struggling and wailing from the guilt of unrepented sin. Do we recognize how precious the Lord’s bread is? If we understand how binding and guilt-driving sin can be, we would realize how liberating God’s bread truly is.
When we say, “As we forgive those who trespass against us”, we are reminded to forgive our brothers and sisters as God graciously forgives us, seventy-seven times even (Matthew 18:22), as if to signify perfection. While perfect forgiveness is a divine feat, we can forgive perfectly when we forgive persistently. The slights made by others may stings, but we God who is faithful to heal our pains. “He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds” (Psalm 147:3). “The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit” (Psalm 34:18).
The more we forgive others and even ourselves, the more we learn how to dislodge pain. The more we forgive, the more we get to live freely.
Finally, as the Lord’s Prayer closes when we say, “Please lead us not into the test and please deliver us from evil”, we are reminded of our human limitations. And in our humble acceptance of these limitations, we pray for deliverance from the evil one.
Besides the Lord’s Prayer, the Gospel for today gives us more reason to live in hope. God’s yes is available to those who persist.
In Luke 18:1-8, we are told of the story of a widow. Where she lives, there was an unjust judge “who neither feared God nor cared what people thought” (Luke 18:2). The widow frequented the judge for justice to be granted to her against her enemy. The judge refused her visit after visit, but after some time, he granted her plea: “Because this widow keeps bothering me, I will see that she gets justice, so that she won’t eventually come and attack me!” (Luke 18:4-5).
Justice was granted to the widow who persisted even at a time when the culture was not benevolent to her kind.
This is the faith we have in Christ; that we have a Lawyer who pleads our case (Lamentations 3:58), who knows us far better than we know ourselves […] who keeps us present before God (Romans 8:27), in Whom our Father is well-pleased (Matthew 3:17), and in Whom we can “approach God's throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need” (Hebrews 4:16).
Friends, it may be difficult to persist in asking God for a certain grace but may we hope that in our next prayer, His answer will be given. For if God can grant to one who asks, what more to one who persists?
Prayer
Lord God, thank You for the very uplifting Gospel for today—the Passage many seek comfort in when we are running low on faith and hope.
When we pray to You, may we be confident in recounting to you our candid but nonetheless respectful thoughts, as one does to his or her most trusted confidant.
May the graces that we seek, countless as they may be, bring You glory first and foremost, and goodness to others, too, so the graces we pray for find good purpose.
When we lose hope in Your good promise, may we never forget that You are faithful to give at Your own appointed time, in Your own way.
Please have mercy on us, Lord. May we hope in your kind response.
These we ask in Jesus’ most holy Name, Amen
When we pray to You, may we be confident in recounting to you our candid but nonetheless respectful thoughts, as one does to his or her most trusted confidant.
May the graces that we seek, countless as they may be, bring You glory first and foremost, and goodness to others, too, so the graces we pray for find good purpose.
When we lose hope in Your good promise, may we never forget that You are faithful to give at Your own appointed time, in Your own way.
Please have mercy on us, Lord. May we hope in your kind response.
These we ask in Jesus’ most holy Name, Amen
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