Harden not your hearts today,
but listen to the voice of the Lord. PS 94:8
GENESIS 18:16-33
My Soul's Beloved,
When we pray for the salvation of those we love with a loving burden on our hearts as Abraham did, You will hear and You will answer for You, O Lord, do not desire the death of the sinner but that all be saved and come to the knowledge of Truth.
Abraham could not bear the thought of entire cities and all who were in them to be destroyed and reduced to rubble and ashes, and so he pleaded boldly despite his fear that God would spare them. You, O Lord, our faithful, and nothing delights You more than when we persevere in prayer and ask boldly for what we know to be right, true, and good, for You will never refuse what You ardently desire as well.
From 50 just men, he pleaded that perhaps there would be only 45 and then pleaded further that perhaps only 40 would be found, then 30, and 20, and finally 10, and You assured him that for the sake of the 10 just men, You would not command the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. Sadly, not even 10 just men could be found, and these two places and all those in them were incinerated by the wrath of God.
When, with deliberate intent, knowing full well the gravity of our sins, we continue to commit them with impunity, then it is our lack of remorse and contrition that condemns us. God always desires that His children be saved and return to Him. He did not spare You, His only Son, to bear the punishment, suffering, and death that was ours, and if we continue to reject the salvation that is freely offered to us we consign our souls to eternal separation and damnation from the Source of all that is true, good, and beautiful. Have mercy, O Lord, for the sake of the faithful few, show mercy and save the many.
From Mamre the men set out and arrived within sight of Sodom, with Abraham accompanying them to show them the way. Now the Lord had wondered, ‘Shall I conceal from Abraham what I am going to do, seeing that Abraham will become a great nation with all the nations of the earth blessing themselves by him? For I have singled him out to command his sons and his household after him to maintain the way of the Lord by just and upright living. In this way the Lord will carry out for Abraham what he has promised him.’
MATTHEW 8:18-22
My Soul's Beloved,
From Mamre the men set out and arrived within sight of Sodom, with Abraham accompanying them to show them the way. Now the Lord had wondered, ‘Shall I conceal from Abraham what I am going to do, seeing that Abraham will become a great nation with all the nations of the earth blessing themselves by him? For I have singled him out to command his sons and his household after him to maintain the way of the Lord by just and upright living. In this way the Lord will carry out for Abraham what he has promised him.’
Then the Lord said, ‘How great an outcry there is against Sodom and Gomorrah! How grievous is their sin! I propose to go down and see whether or not they have done all that is alleged in the outcry against them that has come up to me. I am determined to know.’
The men left there and went to Sodom while Abraham remained standing before the Lord. Approaching him he said, ‘Are you really going to destroy the just man with the sinner? Perhaps there are fifty just men in the town. Will you really overwhelm them, will you not spare the place for the fifty just men in it? Do not think of doing such a thing: to kill the just man with the sinner, treating just and sinner alike! Do not think of it! Will the judge of the whole earth not administer justice?’ The Lord replied, ‘If at Sodom I find fifty just men in the town, I will spare the whole place because of them.’
Abraham replied, ‘I am bold indeed to speak like this to my Lord, I who am dust and ashes. But perhaps the fifty just men lack five: will you destroy the whole city for five?’ ‘No,’ he replied ‘I will not destroy it if I find forty-five just men there.’ Again Abraham said to him, ‘Perhaps there will only be forty there.’ ‘I will not do it’ he replied ‘for the sake of the forty.’
Abraham said, ‘I trust my Lord will not be angry, but give me leave to speak: perhaps there will only be thirty there.’ ‘I will not do it’ he replied ‘if I find thirty there.’ He said, ‘I am bold indeed to speak like this, but perhaps there will only be twenty there.’ ‘I will not destroy it’ he replied ‘for the sake of the twenty.’ He said, ‘I trust my Lord will not be angry if I speak once more: perhaps there will only be ten.’ ‘I will not destroy it’ he replied ‘for the sake of the ten.’
When he had finished talking to Abraham the Lord went away, and Abraham returned home.
PSALM 102(103):1-4,8-11
The Lord is compassion and love.
The men left there and went to Sodom while Abraham remained standing before the Lord. Approaching him he said, ‘Are you really going to destroy the just man with the sinner? Perhaps there are fifty just men in the town. Will you really overwhelm them, will you not spare the place for the fifty just men in it? Do not think of doing such a thing: to kill the just man with the sinner, treating just and sinner alike! Do not think of it! Will the judge of the whole earth not administer justice?’ The Lord replied, ‘If at Sodom I find fifty just men in the town, I will spare the whole place because of them.’
Abraham replied, ‘I am bold indeed to speak like this to my Lord, I who am dust and ashes. But perhaps the fifty just men lack five: will you destroy the whole city for five?’ ‘No,’ he replied ‘I will not destroy it if I find forty-five just men there.’ Again Abraham said to him, ‘Perhaps there will only be forty there.’ ‘I will not do it’ he replied ‘for the sake of the forty.’
Abraham said, ‘I trust my Lord will not be angry, but give me leave to speak: perhaps there will only be thirty there.’ ‘I will not do it’ he replied ‘if I find thirty there.’ He said, ‘I am bold indeed to speak like this, but perhaps there will only be twenty there.’ ‘I will not destroy it’ he replied ‘for the sake of the twenty.’ He said, ‘I trust my Lord will not be angry if I speak once more: perhaps there will only be ten.’ ‘I will not destroy it’ he replied ‘for the sake of the ten.’
When he had finished talking to Abraham the Lord went away, and Abraham returned home.
PSALM 102(103):1-4,8-11
The Lord is compassion and love.
My soul, give thanks to the Lord
all my being, bless his holy name.
My soul, give thanks to the Lord
and never forget all his blessings.
It is he who forgives all your guilt,
who heals every one of your ills,
who redeems your life from the grave,
who crowns you with love and compassion.
The Lord is compassion and love,
slow to anger and rich in mercy.
His wrath will come to an end;
he will not be angry for ever.
He does not treat us according to our sins
nor repay us according to our faults.
For as the heavens are high above the earth
so strong is his love for those who fear him.
all my being, bless his holy name.
My soul, give thanks to the Lord
and never forget all his blessings.
It is he who forgives all your guilt,
who heals every one of your ills,
who redeems your life from the grave,
who crowns you with love and compassion.
The Lord is compassion and love,
slow to anger and rich in mercy.
His wrath will come to an end;
he will not be angry for ever.
He does not treat us according to our sins
nor repay us according to our faults.
For as the heavens are high above the earth
so strong is his love for those who fear him.
The Lord is compassion and love.
MATTHEW 8:18-22
My Soul's Beloved,
There are two kinds of people, as we see in this Gospel passage, those who, without proper reflection and discernment, rashly commit themselves to follow You, whether or not it is God's will for them, or take into consideration whether or not they are prepared to pay the price of discipleship. Then there is the other kind who know full well what God's will is for their lives, but are looking for excuses to either delay following the Lord or find a way to not do it all.
To the first, You warn that those who follow You must be prepared to empty themselves, totally expecting nothing but suffering and hardship for the Kingdom of God. The Way of the Cross is the way of self-emptying suffering. And to the second, You say that no excuse is good enough to put off doing what God is clearly demanding of His disciples. Following You, Lord, we receive the fullness of life, but if we look to the world, all we will find is decay and death. It is up to us to decide whether or not we will discern Your will for us and do it, keeping in mind that our choices have eternal consequences.
When Jesus saw the great crowds all about him he gave orders to leave for the other side. One of the scribes then came up and said to him, ‘Master, I will follow you wherever you go.’ Jesus replied, ‘Foxes have holes and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.’
Another man, one of his disciples, said to him, ‘Sir, let me go and bury my father first.’ But Jesus replied, ‘Follow me, and leave the dead to bury their dead.’
When Jesus saw the great crowds all about him he gave orders to leave for the other side. One of the scribes then came up and said to him, ‘Master, I will follow you wherever you go.’ Jesus replied, ‘Foxes have holes and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.’
Another man, one of his disciples, said to him, ‘Sir, let me go and bury my father first.’ But Jesus replied, ‘Follow me, and leave the dead to bury their dead.’
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