Thoughts on Today’s Lessons for Sunday, July 28, 2013.
Christ teaching the Lord’s Prayer
This may come as a surprise: The “grave sin of Sodom” might not be what you think it is. God’s wrath with the Sodomites did not have to do with sex but righteousness: As the Prophet Ezekiel will later cry out, “This was the guilt of your sister Sodom: she and her daughters had pride, excess of food, and prosperous ease, but did not aid the poor and needy.” This covenantal call to righteous action runs through the Bible from Moses through the prophets to Jesus. Even God was willing to bargain with Abraham and save the entire city if only 10 righteous people could be found.
Psalm: Psalm 138
We often pray when we’re in need. In time of trouble and of fear, we call out in our helplessness and beg God to come to our aid. But how often do we remember to thank God? Thanks for a specific blessing, or thanks for our blessings in general: As our mothers taught us, saying “thanks” is the right thing to do. The Psalmist reminds us today that God responds when we call; God loves us and is faithful to us. For this we are truly thankful.
Second Reading: Colossians 2:6-15 (16-19)
The author of Colossians, who may have been a later follower of Paul, reminds us to be thankful, too, for the faith and blessings we receive through Christ. This letter to the people of Colossae, a community of new believers who may have been wrestling with pagan beliefs from their Greek culture, warns of false teachings, “festivals, new moons or sabbaths,” which, he points out, are only a shadow of what is to come through Christ.
Gospel: Luke 11:1-13
Abraham spoke up and argued with God. Jesus showed us all how to talk to God when the apostles asked him, “Teach us to pray.” What did Jesus say? His prayer calls us to be righteous, just as God told Abraham: Share our food, forgive our debts, do to others as we would have them do to us. Do these things and help open God’s Kingdom, not only in Heaven but right here on Earth. Talk to God. Argue if you must. Ask, and it shall be given to you.