From the Deacon’s Desk 7.28.19

Dear Friends:

This Sunday we hear from the book of Genesis 18:20-32. It’s the story of God’s anger with the towns of Sodom and Gomorrah. There are all kinds of speculation as to what the sin was. Most likely, the people of Sodom and Gomorrah were inhospitable. Remember that we are dealing with people who live in the desert. Its 110° during the day and without food or water someone could actually die. If the people of Sodom and Gomorrah are inhospitable then just that can happen.

Abraham does quite a bit of bargaining with God asking him “Will you sweep away the innocent with the guilty? Suppose there were 50 innocent people in the city; would you wipe out the place, rather than spare it for the sake of 50 innocent people within it?” With a little bit of juggling the Lord replies to Abraham “If I find 50 innocent people in the city of Sodom, I will spare the whole place for their sake.”

Abraham continues to dicker with God until he gets to the last line in the story: “Please, let not my Lord grow angry if I speak up this last time. What if there are at least 10 there?” God replies, “For the sake of those 10, I will not destroy it.”

We have a loving God. The story of Abraham’s bargaining with God tells us how much God really cares about all of us. God promised Abraham he would not destroy the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah if only 10 good people lived there. This is really something for us to think about. God wants what’s best for us. He is here to guide us, to teach us and to show us how he wants us to live. He even sent his son to be one of us as an example. Let’s make God a promise today. Let’s promise God we will always live as good Catholic Christian people!

 

Peace and All Good!

Deacon Jim