Daily Retreat 07/02/07
2007 Jul 2 Mon
Gn 18:16-33/ Ps 102(103):1b-2. 3-4. 8-9. 10-11/ Mt 8:18-22
From today’s readings: “If I find fifty innocent people in the city of Sodom, I will spare the whole place for their sake.... The Lord is kind and merciful.... Foxes have dens and birds of the sky have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to rest His head....”
Bargaining with God
Of the twelve chapters of Genesis which treat especially of Abraham’s life, the verses which I found most unforgettable in my youth were these which recount the occasion of his “bargaining” with God on behalf of a hypothetical and ever dwindling number of upright people in Sodom.
Yet we should note, right from the start, that Abraham is not technically bargaining with God! For each time Abraham works up enough courage for a proposition, God simply expresses agreement, without haggling or counter-offers. So, it’s not as if Abraham “pushed” God to His final offer of saving Sodom for the sake of ten upright people - rather, it was more a matter of Abraham gradually fathoming God’s mercy by stages.
In our process of maturing in understanding the meaning of prayer, probably all of us at one time or another have sought to bargain with God - “I’ll do this for You, God, if You do this for me....” Of course, as Abraham knew so well, none of us who are “but dust and ashes” can ever presume to force God’s almighty hand to accept any hard bargain from us! On the other hand, whenever we pray to God, we should seek to fathom the depths of His mercy as we humbly offer Him our very selves, because, after all, that’s what He was willing to die for!
Gn 18:16-33/ Ps 102(103):1b-2. 3-4. 8-9. 10-11/ Mt 8:18-22
From today’s readings: “If I find fifty innocent people in the city of Sodom, I will spare the whole place for their sake.... The Lord is kind and merciful.... Foxes have dens and birds of the sky have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to rest His head....”
Bargaining with God
Of the twelve chapters of Genesis which treat especially of Abraham’s life, the verses which I found most unforgettable in my youth were these which recount the occasion of his “bargaining” with God on behalf of a hypothetical and ever dwindling number of upright people in Sodom.
Yet we should note, right from the start, that Abraham is not technically bargaining with God! For each time Abraham works up enough courage for a proposition, God simply expresses agreement, without haggling or counter-offers. So, it’s not as if Abraham “pushed” God to His final offer of saving Sodom for the sake of ten upright people - rather, it was more a matter of Abraham gradually fathoming God’s mercy by stages.
In our process of maturing in understanding the meaning of prayer, probably all of us at one time or another have sought to bargain with God - “I’ll do this for You, God, if You do this for me....” Of course, as Abraham knew so well, none of us who are “but dust and ashes” can ever presume to force God’s almighty hand to accept any hard bargain from us! On the other hand, whenever we pray to God, we should seek to fathom the depths of His mercy as we humbly offer Him our very selves, because, after all, that’s what He was willing to die for!
posted by FrPitstick | 7/01/2007
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