DAILY- HOMILY

July 28, 2019 - 17th SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME
Green.

Gn 18: 20 – 32 / Col 2: 12 – 14 / Lk 11: 1 – 13

FROM THE 1ST READING: Gn 18: 20 – 21, 23 – 26, 32
Then Yahweh said, "How great is the cry for justice against Sodom and Gomorrah! And how grievous is their sin! I am going to see if they have done all that they have charged with in the outcry that has reached me. If it is not so, I will know."

Abraham went forward and said, "Will you really let the just perish with the wicked? Perhaps there are fifty good people in the town. Are you really going to let them perish? Would you not spare the place for the sake of these fifty righteous people?" Yahweh said, "If I find fifty good people in Sodom, I will spare the whole place for their sake." . . .

But Abraham insisted, "May my Lord not be angry, but let me speak just once more. What if only ten can be found?" And Yahweh answered, "For the sake of ten good people, I will not destroy Sodom."

2ND READING: Col 2: 12 – 14
I refer to baptism. On receiving it you were buried with Christ; and you also rose with him for having believed in the power of God who raised him from the dead.

You were dead. You were in sin and uncircumcised at the same time. But God gave you life with Christ. He canceled the record of our debts, those regulations which accused us. He did away with all that and nailed it to the cross,

FROM THE GOSPEL READING: Lk 11: 1 – 4, 9 – 13
One day 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." And Jesus said to them, "When you pray, say this:

'Father, hallowed be your name, may your kingdom come, give us each day the kind of bread we need, and forgive us our sins, for we also forgive all who do us wrong, and do not bring us to the test.'

"And so I say to you, 'Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and it will be opened to you, For the one who asks receives, and the one who searches finds, and to him who knocks the door will be opened.'

"If your child asks for a fish, will you give a snake instead? And if your child asks for an egg, will you give a scorpion? Even you evil people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more then will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him."

REFLECTION
God seems to answer our prayers in various ways:   1) He says yes and gives us what we prayed for; 2) He says no but gives us something even better, such as strength to face our problem; and 3) He says wait and gives us the best.

 More important is the assurance that in whatever way, God always answers our prayers, though he may answer in his own way in his own good time.

Our readings today tell us how God responds to our prayers and requests. In the first reading from Genesis we see Abraham courageously, though with great courtesy, haggling with God to save Sodom and Gomorrah from destruction: "Will you destroy Sodom if only there were so many good people in it? Will you destroy the good with the bad?"

In the reading from Paul's Letter to the Colossians, Paul tells us how God's saving work comes to us in baptism.

In the Gospel reading our Lord teaches his disciples to pray the "Our Father" and assures his disciples that his heavenly Father listens to all prayers and petitions: "Even you evil people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more then will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him."

FINALLY, WE PRAY FOR ONE ANOTHER, FOR THOSE WHO HAVE ASKED OUR PRAYERS AND FOR THOSE WHO NEED OUR PRAYERS THE MOST.

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