Word to the Wise
Monday, June 30, 2025 - Monday in the 13th Week in Ordinary Time
[Gen 18:16-33 and Matt 8:18-22]"Please, let not my Lord be angry if I speak up this last time. What if there are at least 10 there?" He replied, "For the sake of those ten, I will not destroy it." [Genesis]
Sodom and Gomorrah are two biblical places whose names have become a byword for wickedness. But the scene of Abraham bargaining with God over God's threat to destroy the two places always captures my attention. Along with Moses' encounter with God in the burning bush [Exodus 3], I have found it both inspiring and daunting to think that humans can actually dialogue with God about their lives and what God may be planning to do. But it's not unusual! I do it all the time and I know that people of faith resort to it, especially in times of crisis. The whole process was particularly brought to public attention when Elizabeth Kubler-Ross wrote her book on death and dying and described the "bargaining" that can take place - to paraphrase: "Will you let me live until....."
It could be enlightening to take some time and ask ourselves how we "bargain" with God. What can WE bring to the table? Abraham was hoping to save Sodom and Gomorrah but God already knew that Abraham was well-intentioned but didn't know how bad things really were. Faith, at least, enables us to enter into "dialogue" with God, but we have to make an effort to know ourselves well enough to know what we are bringing to the dialogue (or bargain!). Those who, in the gospels, attempt to bargain the terms of discipleship with Jesus, soon discover that he has the upper hand! But the effort is worth the self-discovery. AMEN