Genesis 18.20-32

20 Then the Lord said, ‘How great is the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah and how very grave their sin! 21 I must go down and see whether they have done altogether according to the outcry that has come to me; and if not, I will know.’ 22 So the men turned from there, and went towards Sodom, while Abraham remained standing before the Lord . 23 Then Abraham came near and said, ‘Will you indeed sweep away the righteous with the wicked? 24 Suppose there are fifty righteous within the city; will you then sweep away the place and not forgive it for the fifty righteous who are in it? 25 Far be it from you to do such a thing, to slay the righteous with the wicked, so that the righteous fare as the wicked! Far be that from you! Shall not the Judge of all the earth do what is just?’ 26 And the Lord said, ‘If I find at Sodom fifty righteous in the city, I will forgive the whole place for their sake.’ 27 Abraham answered, ‘Let me take it upon myself to speak to the Lord, I who am but dust and ashes. 28 Suppose five of the fifty righteous are lacking? Will you destroy the whole city for lack of five?’ And he said, ‘I will not destroy it if I find forty-five there.’ 29 Again he spoke to him, ‘Suppose forty are found there.’ He answered, ‘For the sake of forty I will not do it.’ 30 Then he said, ‘Oh do not let the Lord be angry if I speak. Suppose thirty are found there.’ He answered, ‘I will not do it, if I find thirty there.’ 31 He said, ‘Let me take it upon myself to speak to the Lord. Suppose twenty are found there.’ He answered, ‘For the sake of twenty I will not destroy it.’ 32 Then he said, ‘Oh do not let the Lord be angry if I speak just once more. Suppose ten are found there.’ He answered, ‘For the sake of ten I will not destroy it.’

 

REFLECTION

 I look at this reading in relationship to the Gospel reading about prayer. God is dealing with Sodom and Gomorrah in response to prayer. ‘How great is the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah ...' He is ready to deal out consequences. Now some may say God's consequence is harsh, but we do not understand how the people were acting. I would like to think it must have been really bad for God to think this was the appropriate action. As it is Abraham goes to bat for them. He asks and not so much to not do it, but to pray for those who would be innocent victims of the act.  Abraham seems to be taking a risk to constantly push for a lower number. I feel that what Abraham did was inappropriate, and yet God is okay with it. The God who would destroy two cities for doing bad things is okay with being negotiated with. In the end God agrees to Abraham's request and yet it doesn't help. Abraham thought there were righteous people in Sodom and Gomorrah and there were not. Even before Jesus told the disciples how to pray God, Abraham showed how to pray to God.  

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Psalm 138

1 I will give you thanks, O Lord, with my whole heart:

even before the gods will I sing your praises.

2 I will bow down toward your holy temple

and give thanks to your name:

because of your faithfulness and your loving-kindness,

for you have made your name and your word

supreme over all things.

3 At a time when I called to you, you gave me answer:

and put new strength within my soul.

4 All the kings of the earth shall praise you, O Lord:

for they have heard the words of your mouth;

5 And they shall sing of the ways of the Lord:

that the glory of the Lord is great.

6 For though the Lord is exalted, he looks upon the lowly:

and he comprehends the proud from afar.

7 Though I walk in the midst of danger,

yet will you preserve my life:

you will stretch out your hand against the fury of my

enemies, and your right hand shall save me.

8 The Lord will complete his purpose for me:

your loving-kindness, O Lord, endures for ever;

do not forsake the work of your own hands.

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Colossians 2.6-19

6 As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, continue to live your lives in him, 7 rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving. 8 See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the universe, and not according to Christ. 9 For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily, 10 and you have come to fullness in him, who is the head of every ruler and authority. 11 In him also you were circumcised with a spiritual circumcision, by putting off the body of the flesh in the circumcision of Christ; 12 when you were buried with him in baptism, you were also raised with him through faith in the power of God, who raised him from the dead. 13 And when you were dead in trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you alive together with him, when he forgave us all our trespasses, 14 erasing the record that stood against us with its legal demands. He set this aside, nailing it to the cross. 15 He disarmed the rulers and authorities and made a public example of them, triumphing over them in it. 16 Therefore do not let anyone condemn you in matters of food and drink or of observing festivals, new moons, or sabbaths. 17 These are only a shadow of what is to come, but the substance belongs to Christ. 18 Do not let anyone disqualify you, insisting on self-abasement and worship of angels, dwelling on visions, puffed up without cause by a human way of thinking, 19 and not holding fast to the head, from whom the whole body, nourished and held together by its ligaments and sinews, grows with a growth that is from God.

 

REFLECTION 

 As I read Paul's words to the Colossians I am moved by his want to ensure that these believers do not get lead astray. He is fighting for them, as Abraham fought for the righteous people he thought might be in Sodom and Gomorrah. He calls the Colossan's to seek for that which they have accepted. How much more did Paul pray for them in his prayers. Paul is not concerned about their physical needs or the social situation. He is concerned about their relationship with God and their eternal lives. 

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Luke 11.1-13

1 He was praying in a certain place, and after he had finished, one of his disciples said to him, ‘Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples.’
2 He said to them, ‘When you pray, say:
Father, hallowed be your name.
    Your kingdom come.
3 Give us each day our daily bread.
4 And forgive us our sins,
    for we ourselves forgive everyone indebted to us.
    And do not bring us to the time of trial.’
5 And he said to them, ‘Suppose one of you has a friend, and you go to him at midnight and say to him, “Friend, lend me three loaves of bread;
6 for a friend of mine has arrived, and I have nothing to set before him.”
7 And he answers from within, “Do not bother me; the door has already been locked, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot get up and give you anything.”
8 I tell you, even though he will not get up and give him anything because he is his friend, at least because of his persistence he will get up and give him whatever he needs.
9 ‘So I say to you, Ask, and it will be given to you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you.
10 For everyone who asks receives, and everyone who searches finds, and for everyone who knocks, the door will be opened.
11 Is there anyone among you who, if your child asks for a fish, will give a snake instead of a fish?
12 Or if the child asks for an egg, will give a scorpion?
13 If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!’

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REFLECTION

The Lord's prayer appears in Matthew's and Luke's Gospel. In Matthew's gospel it is during the Sermon on the Mount in Luke's account it is a response to a request from the disciples' ton how to pray.  Is this an interpretation of the writer or could it have happened twice? I know I have shared many times about the ACTS prayer style.

Adoration

Confession

Thanksgiving

Supplication.

Depending on who you talk to you would get it from a different event. I am okay that Jesus shared this prayer style more than once. If this prayer says it all then we should look at what is important to our relationship with God. I also believe that the Lord's Prayer is a structure of what is in a prayer, not the prayer itself. We are meant to look at what the different statements mean. God is Father. What does that mean?

Hallowed be your name. What does that mean? and so on.

The prayer is meant to be a doorway to understanding and to relationship. It is a request for help.

The pray seems simple, but I don't think it is because in Luke's account Jesus follows with a parable about the man asking a friend for food. Jesus tells them that the man got what he wanted because he was persistent, not because of relationship. Saying the lord's prayer is about wanting something so badly you don't care how you get it. He then says anyone who truly asks, searches, or knocks will receive. Saying the Lord's prayer is not just saying the words, but in them seeking, asking, knocking.

He then compares God's giving with an earthly father. God cares, and provides, the question is do we ask with a desire to receive? We need to look at our hearts and purpose in our requests. Jesus says search, are we seeking to understand or just to receive? Do we ask from our hearts or to tick a box? Do we really want the door to open? Are we willing to walk through if it is? 

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