• Genesis 18:20-32. Abraham argues with God not to destroy the wicked cities, if fifty and eventually if only ten just persons are found in them.
• Colossians 2:12-14.The gentiles, though non-observant of the Jewish law and helplessly dead in their sins, were raised to new life in Christ’s resurrection. The decree against us was nailed to the cross.
• Luke 11:1-13. Jesus teaches the Our Father and persistency in prayer. Ask and you shall receive.

Thoughts for your Reflection: By John Gonzalez

God is merciful and God is just. These are two principle attributes that scripture tells us about God. In the first reading Abraham is petitioning for God’s mercy in the midst of his decision to distribute justice to the people of Sodom and Gomorrah. Abraham’s concern for these two cities may be related to his concern for his nephew Lot. God on the other hand is concerned also with the “outcry against” these two cities. God patiently listens to Abraham pleas but in the end God brings down the destruction of these two cities. He does save Lot and his family from this destruction however so even though he does not respond to Abraham’s ultimate request for mercy he does respond to the personal concern that Abraham would naturally have.

Justice and Mercy may not always be what we expect them to be. I like to play this first reading off another reading found later on in the Hebrew scripture. In the story of Jonah we hear of another judgment event where God is set to destroy Nineveh. In this case Jonah is all in favor of this destruction and at first he refuses to participate with any act of mercy on behalf of these people. After he reluctantly does so he is disappointed in God for showing mercy towards the repentant residence of this city. Jonah refuses to accept this and waits in vain for God to act with shock and awe. Abraham is praying for mercy, Jonah is praying for justice and neither ultimately get what they want. How do we reconcile this with the Gospel reading where Jesus tells us with regards to prayer that if we ask we shall then receive?        

Prayer is an act of relationship. It does not function as a selfish act. When Jesus teaches his disciples to pray he not only has them communicate with God but he has them engage in an intimate relationship with God by calling him Abba. There is direct correlative between relating with God and relating with others. To relate with God is to accept that you are in relationship with all of God’s creation. Our act of prayer is a selfless act. We place ourselves outside our own will and control and make the petition “thy will be done.” In making this statement we make our request within the realm of the common good vs. our own desired good. God is indeed attentive to our needs and cries but he is equally attentive to the needs and cries of the entire family of creation. In the action against Sodom and Gomorrah God is responding to the outcries of many but still he hears the one cry of mercy that Abraham gives and it may be for that reason that he saves Lot and his family from this fate.

The fact is that like Jonah and Abraham many of us have made prayer request that we feel have not been heard. Our first impulse may be to think that God is not listening to us. Those of us who work for issues of justice, peace and the integrity of creation may feel neglected in the face of grave injustice, violence and environmental degradation. This past weekend as I shared a talk on the passion of the earth I heard a comment from one of the participants on how they perceived God and humanity to be neglecting the ecological devastations we have been witnessing. It may not be apparent to us but this is where the attitude of prayer needs to transform how we see ourselves and our world. Prayer is an act of submission to something greater than ourselves. It is a communication with the divine author of creation in which we share our own petitions and thanksgiving but in which we also allow ourselves to be transformed into a cosmic plan and a divine will. We will not always understand this divine will and sometimes we may perceive it as something that is not particularly good to us. And yet our faith tells us that through the Paschal Mystery (passion, death and resurrection) that something good will come out of all this suffering. In the face of violence, injustice and devastation we believe that something positive can come out of it. Out of some form of suffering a greater good can be born. Prayer is the ongoing act of conversion towards that greater good, a common good.

In the second reading Paul is informing the Colossians about this amazing transformation. On our own we are dead. The law is not sufficient for giving us new life. Through the cross Paul describes our emancipation from the sin of self indulgence. In the following chapter Paul describes these sins of self-interest which continues to keep us in captivity to this very day. In our own day we know that some even go so far as to say that greed is good but in Chapter 3 of this letter Paul tells us that greed is idolatry. If we pray for our own self interest and for our own desires then we are missing the point of prayer. We pray to share in the divine vision of building up the kingdom of God which will establish a common good throughout humanity and creation. Working with the analogy of the good parent that Jesus offers us in this week’s gospel may be helpful here. How many of us have dealt with petitions from our children which may challenge us. The item in question may seem like fun but based on our own experience we recognize the potential for unintended consequences and for that reason we may dutifully reject such petitions. So while it would seem obvious that we would not hand our children a snake when they ask for bread perhaps it may be equally obvious that would still not hand them a snake even if they were to ask for a snake.

God is just and God is merciful. This is a statement of faith because from where we individually stand we cannot possibly expect to know what this ideal of justice and compassion could look like. And so we make our prayers of thanksgiving and requests always keeping in mind that “thy will be done.”

• Isaiah 6:1-8. The prophet’s inaugural vision and call to ministry.
• 1 Corinthians 15:1-11. Paul transmits the creed preached in the early church about the resurrection of Jesus. “I handed on to you what I myself received.”
• Luke 5:1-11. A miraculous catch of fishes. Peter’s protestations of unworthiness; Jesus’ call of Peter, James and John to be fishers of men and women for the kingdom of God.

Thoughts for your consideration: by John Gonzalez

This week’s reading shares the sense of unworthiness that Isaiah, Paul and Peter had as they were all called to serve God. These three each identified themselves as sinners and humbled themselves before God and Christ before accepting their new mission to be a prophet or preacher for the kingdom of God.  It is interesting for me to see the different professional areas that are covered between them. Peter is a simple fisherman and a hardworking common man. Paul is a theological academic who was trained as a Pharisee. Isaiah is a politician in the service of the royal court of King Uzziah. These are three very different people with three very different professions. In each case they all experienced a significant change in their life that seems to have rocked the very foundations of their relatively stable lives. In each case they realized how unworthy and sinful they all were before reluctantly accepting their new divine mission.

The role of humility cannot be understated in what took place with these three people. At the moment that they humbled themselves before God and Christ they became open to another way of thinking. They were able to accept a major paradigm shift that had gone against the social reality they were used to. Isaiah was quite skilled with his “unclean lips” that dominated the political atmosphere of the royal court. Paul was zealous for protecting the traditional Pharisaic doctrine that he had studied under. Peter was used to a certain style of fishing and was obviously in charge of his own fishing crew. And yet, after suffering some form of setback, they all allowed themselves to be open to a new way of seeing their world and of serving something beyond their own social profession.

The three readings revolve around God or Christ calling each of them to a new life and ministry and after they all humble themselves to God they accept their new calling. The Book of Jonah would be interesting for us to examine in relationship to this theme. In this case Jonah already exists as a prophet of the Lord and he seems to have quite a reputation in this field. God calls on him again to fulfill another mission within his prophetic ministry but Jonah, in his professional arrogance, reluctantly accepted the mission but was greatly disappointed with God for being merciful to a people Jonah wanted to condemn. In the end Jonah was “angry enough to die.”

The distinction here is how Peter, Paul and Isaiah were humble and submissive to God’s ways while Jonah allowed himself to be filled with arrogance and pride. The issue in our own world is not that God is no longer calling people to Him but that many of us chose to see the world only from the perspective of our own opinions and desires and thus reject opportunities to serve God and His church because they do not meet our expectations. In my experience with parishes and retreats I have come across a number of people with good intentions who are ready to offer social criticisms against society and the church based on personal experience or political platforms and when they are challenged on some of the church’s social issues that do not fit their own opinions they can become defensive and sometime dismissive to the entire social teachings of the church rather than allowing themselves to being open to a broader social vision.

Just like Peter, Paul and Isaiah we too are called to serve God through our own baptism into the church. Vatican II reminds us of this in their document to the laity: “The laity derive the right and duty to the apostolate from their union with Christ the head; incorporated into Christ’s Mystical Body through Baptism and strengthened by the power of the Holy Spirit through Confirmation, they are assigned to the apostolate by the Lord Himself.” Through the church and religious communities like our own opportunities exist for people to take part in promoting a greater social vision based on divine principles that make up the Church’s social teachings. These include such principles as the common good, solidarity, human dignity, preferential option for the poor and care for the integrity of creation. If we allow ourselves to be open to the possibilities of service then we will become aware of these opportunities that we are given to be at the service of God and His divine mission.

• Jonah 3:1-5, 10
• 1 Corinthians 7:29-31
• Mark 1:14-20

Thoughts for Your Consideration:

For many of us change is a very challenging concept. Change is usually unexpected, sometimes change can be positive, other times it is negative, but almost all the time it throws us off. It is a basic aspect of human nature to desire and work for a stable environment that gives us some sense of control in our lives. We seek this with our family and occupation. We seek this with our local community, our nation and our world. We even seek this with our own faith and cosmology. Many times we would rather have a prescribed formula for what we need to do to get into heaven. Unfortunately as scripture tells us, heaven does not work that way. If we really want to aspire to follow Jesus and do what is right, then we are in for one roller-coaster of a ride.

Jonah is a prophet who does not like change (which is an unusual trait for a prophet.) He is upset that he has to minister to a group of people that he does not seem to care for. After he finally accomplishes his responsibility he is angry at God for displaying mercy to the Assyrians who, as far as Jonah is concerned, have been rightfully condemned and ought to be punished. To Jonah’s unpleasant surprise even God can change his mind.

Unlike Jonah Paul is far more receptive to change. Paul’s gospel conviction is that change is not only part of life, but that for those of us who chose to follow Christ, change is definite and it will be massive, “for the world in its present form is passing away.” The new Christian community in Corinth is accepting this gospel message that Paul has shared but they seem to be content with adopting it to their current way of life. Early on in this epistle Paul is trying to have them realize the challenging responsibility and life altering condition that the gospel message is by divorcing it from the “wisdom of this world” and centering this divine message of God’s love on one of the most scandalous social images imaginable, the Cross. This change will in the end be glorious, but for now it is going to fraught with pain and suffering. The Gospel message shares with us this same message by describing the circumstances of the early disciples of Jesus. To follow Jesus meant to leave everything they once new behind for the promise of being “fishers of men.” However this call to follow the anointed one of God and share in his divine ministry would also have to share in the pain and suffering of his Passion.

This past Tuesday our nation began to embark on a similar journey of change. During the campaign the Obama administration promised change. This change was focused on a message of hope for a better future in the midst of crisis. But on Tuesday when President Obama gave his inauguration address our new President shared with us the difficult path that lies ahead of us as we aspire to this goal. He offered us courage by reminding us how our current blessing came to us from the struggles and sacrifices of the men and women who came before us. Now we are called again to take up a new cross of social responsibility; responsibility to ourselves, our nation and our world. Because as President Obama put it so eloquently: “This is the price and the promise of citizenship. This is the source of our confidence – the knowledge that God calls on us to shape an uncertain destiny.”

Questions for Reflection in your Faith Sharing Group:

• What social and political problems of today seem to you to be impossible to address or solve?  How does your faith give you courage to deal with these problems?
• How the inauguration of a new president and vice-president in the United States affect you and your sense of hope?  How does it affect your desire to create a world centered on the common good of all?