Download Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Year C
Genesis 18:20-32
Colossians 2:12-14
Luke 11:1-13
“For the sake of those ten,” he replied, “I will not destroy it.”
This last line from the
reading from the Book of Genesis tells us of the great mercy that God has for his people. A few
generations ago, the only ‘righteous’ people on the earth were Noah and his family.
In order to,
“…blot out man whom I have created from the face of the earth,” God sent the flood.
Now, God is ready to see whether the wickedness of the populations of Sodom and
Gomorrah matches the “cry against them”. As the near the towns, Abraham, who is walking with
God and the two angels is the one who asks whether God is prepared to “sweep away the
population”.
God revealed himself to Abraham. In so doing, he entered into a covenant with him and his
descendants. At the same time, Abraham certainly knew the history of Noah, the flood and God’s
wrath toward his creation.
The important element in this passage is not God’s wrath but his mercy. (Yes, we know that
he will destroy the city – but we also have to be reminded that, for the sake of even ten innocent
people in the city, he would not destroy it.)
It was not just fifty or forty or even ten that were saved by the sacrifice offered by Jesus.
The author (St. Paul) of the Letter to the Colossians told the community that they, along with
everyone else has been given “new life” through baptism. We see the vastness of God’s love and
mercy in the cross of Christ. In order to share in that new life, we must put our faith in the Gospel
message and receive baptism, he told the people of Colossae.
Our bonds have been broken. Through the cross we have been freed from our sins.
We see that merciful love again in the Gospel. Jesus teaches his disciples how they should
pray. They have seen him do it – they realize how important it is. In just a few words, Jesus shares
with us the elements of our relationship with God – we praise him, we pray for the coming of his
kingdom, we ask that our daily physical and spiritual needs be fulfilled, we acknowledge his mercy
and forgiveness and we pledge to be just as merciful and forgiving.
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“The definitive salvation that God offers to all humanity through his own Son does not come
about outside of this world. While wounded by sin, the world is destined to undergo a radical
purification (cf. 2 Pet 3:10) that will make it a renewed world (cf. Is 65:17, 66:22; Rev 21:1), finally
becoming the place where "righteousness dwells" (2 Pet 3:13).
In his public ministry, Jesus makes use of natural elements. Not only is he a knowledgeable
interpreter of nature, speaking of it in images and parables, but he also dominates it (cf. the episode
of the calming of the storm in Mt 14:22-33; Mk 6:45-52; Jn 6:16-21). The Lord puts nature at the
service of his plan of redemption. He asks his disciples to look at things, at the seasons and at
people with the trust of children who know that they will never be abandoned by a provident Father
(cf. Lk 11:11-13). Far from being enslaved by things, the disciple of Jesus must know how to use
them in order to bring about sharing and brotherhood (cf. Lk 16:9-13).” (453)
In the story from the Book of Genesis, we saw Abraham standing before God. We heard
him plead for the lives of the innocent and we heard God’s response. In the Letter to the Colossians
we were reminded of the importance of our faith and how, through baptism we are joined to Christ
who has redeemed us and saved us from our sins.
St. Luke gives us an account of the teaching moment when Jesus showed his disciples how
to pray. Jesus also gave us the assurance that God hears and answers our prayers – not in the way
that we might wish – but rather in a way that is best for us.
When he told the story of the neighbour coming to the door in the middle of the night, Jesus
told us the story of God’s great love for us. He knows what is best for each one of us and we only
need to ask, seek and knock and the door will be opened for us.
The stories in the early chapters of the Book of Genesis tell the story of an angry God. Once
he revealed himself to Abraham however, all of that changes. Then we saw a merciful God. In the
light of the New Testament, that view of God becomes even clearer. He is a God who sent his Son
in order that we might be reconciled with him. For our part, all we need to do is seek him and
welcome him into our life.
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