As God’s children, we are all invited to ask God for whatever we need, from our daily bread to forgiveness for our trespasses. We are reminded of this every time we pray the Lord’s Prayer, but today’s readings speak to this as well. Gathered here today to listen to God’s word and share in the Eucharist, let us be consoled in the knowledge that there is no limit to the generosity of a God who willingly sent the Son to suffer and die for us.
Introduction to the Liturgy of the Word
Abraham fears he’s driving the LORD to exhaustion with his pleas on behalf of possible innocents in the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, but in so doing he discovers just how inexhaustible God’s mercy truly is. We sing together in the responsorial psalm that when we call for help, our merciful God answers us. Indeed, Jesus tells his disciples, when they pray they should specifically ask the Father for help and mercy. Let today’s selections from scripture reassure us of God’s infinite mercy.
Reflections
• Though all-knowing, once again the LORD “must go down and see” before pronouncing judgment (Genesis 18:21). As in the garden of Eden or at Babel, God comes to the scene to determine the sinfulness of the people. Then we learn how willing God is to exercise mercy. By the time this was written, Sodom and Gomorrah were well known as cities that were suddenly and completely destroyed in a natural event precipitated by God’s wrath. Tradition varied as to the nature of the sinfulness that incurred God’s punishment, but this account does not concentrate on the sin . . . or on the destruction. Its focus is God’s mercy. God’s mercy is so generous that if even a handful of innocent people lived there, entire cities of thousands would have been spared.
• Last Sunday we heard readings that extolled the value of hospitality. Abraham ran out of his tent to insist that three traveling strangers stop to rest and eat. Martha and Mary welcomed Jesus into their home and their lives. Hospitality was rewarded in both cases. On the other hand, the inhabitants of Sodom and Gomorrah were known for their arrogance and hostility toward strangers and travelers. Centuries later, Ezekiel wrote that they had been “proud, sated with food, complacent in their prosperity, and they gave no help to the poor and needy” (Ezekiel 16:49). Sodom and Gomorrah were large cities, and even today large cities often develop a reputation for inhospitality. Abraham argued in hopes that at least a few people could be found who were generous to outsiders.
• Abraham’s conversation with God doesn’t exactly sound like a prayer, but it is in fact a prayer of petition, a persistent plea for God’s mercy. In the Gospel, Jesus teaches his disciples how to pray, also encouraging them to make a prayer of petition, pleading for food each day and for mercy for their sins. Let us in turn be generous with our belongings and with our forgiveness.
Question of the Week
When have I failed to be generous with what I have or been inhospitable to those I meet? What would lead me to be generous and hospitable?
-from Pastoral Patterns
readings of the mass
LISTEN HEREto the Audio Recordings of the Readings of Sunday, July 24th, 2022, Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
SELECT HEREfor the Readings of Sunday, July 24th, 2022, Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Offerings
The Sunday offerings are a portion of our blessings that we give to God (Church) in gratitude to what God has done for us...ONLINE GIVING OPTIONS
Reflections
"And I tell you, ask and you will receive; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you..."
Jesus assures us that if we ask, God will take care of what we need. The problem is that our culture often confuses what we really need with what we simply want. The truth is that many of us need very little. However, we usually want so much more! Stewardship is simply being grateful for all that we are and all that we have been given, and generously sharing all of our God-given gifts with others. Generosity is a gift that opens doors to new relation- ships with others and with God.
