Word to the Wise
Monday, July 1, 2013 - Monday in the 13th Week in Ordinary Time
[Gen 18:16-33 and Matt 8:18-22]While the two men walked on farther toward Sodom, the Lord remained standing before Abraham. Then Abraham drew nearer to him and said: "Will you sweep away the innocent with the guilty.......Should not the judge of all the world act with justice?
One of the best known icons of Russian Orthodox tradition is the icon of the Trinity by Rublev. It shows three angels seated at a table set for a meal. Volumes have been written about this icon and its many layered meanings, so I can't do justice to it here except in the light of the story of Abraham arguing with God about the fate of Sodom and Gomorrah - our first scripture for today.
The three "angels" visited Abraham to assure him that he would have a son who would continue his family according to God's covenant. Today's story has Abraham seeing them off on their "journey." Two of them walk on ahead leaving "the Lord..standing before Abraham." What follows is one of the most charming dialogs of the entire Bible! Abraham bargains with God for the fate of Sodom and Gomorrah. God already knows that not even ten good people live there! What is of greater significance, I think, is that Abraham has the kind of relationship with God that allows for such a dialog!
The three angels at the table in the icon of the Trinity invite us to the intimacy of dining with God. With our Eucharistic piety that makes the consecrated bread and wine such a sacred object, we don't think of the Mass as an intimate dining experience! However, I do think many of us "bargain" with God about a lot of things! Or we may argue with God like Moses does in the scene with the "burning bush." [Exodus 3] Or read about Moses yelling at God in Numbers 11:10-15. Very profound experiences of prayer may be found in ordinary types of communication. The Rublev icon or even just the text of these stories offer this kind of experience if we're willing to look or to read or even yell! AMEN