17th Sunday: Prayer, the right and the good

The Readings for the Seventeenth Sunday of Ordinary Time

In Genesis, Abraham pleads for Sodom and Gomorrah, two cities threatened with destruction. His nephew Lot lives in Sodom; that gives his concern some extra emotion. But, in the end, the conversation, that is the prayer, between God and Abraham is a confrontation between the dictates of personal and communal justice.  Abraham and God are walking and talking:

The LORD considered: Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do, now that he is to become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth are to find blessing in him ? Indeed, I have singled him out that he may direct his children and his household in the future to keep the way of the LORD by doing what is right and just, so that the LORD may put into effect for Abraham the promises he made about him. Gen. 18:17-19.

 Many commentators note Abraham’s concern for others, that is, the just men and women if any, living in Sodom and Gomorrah, is a sign of his compassion. Abraham’s concern is not limited simply to Lot, but to the just people of Sodom and Gomorrah. Should the innocent be swept away with the guilty? Abraham’s prayer to God is both about Lot, who lives in Sodom, and also concerns those righteous people, if any, who live there.
 
Abrahams prayer
After God tells Abraham about the impending destruction of the two cities, and Abraham starts negotiating. Abraham does not mention his concern about Lot directly, but God knows his heart. Abraham prays.

Suppose there were fifty innocent people in the city; would you wipe out the place, rather than spare it…?

 Abraham does not mention the city where his nephew Lot lives, but God is not so bashful. God, replies,

"If I find fifty innocent people in the city of Sodom, I will spare the whole place for their sake."

 Abraham is rightly concerned about his family, and the prayer back and forth between God and Abraham continues in this manner, until the last time Abraham prays,

"Please, let not my Lord grow angry if I speak up this last time. What if there are at least ten there?"
 The Lord replied, "For the sake of those ten, I will not destroy it."

 Abraham left it at ten. Why? If his only concern was his nephew Lot, a righteous man, why wouldn’t he negotiate the Lord down to, “Hey Lord, what if there is only one? Would you spare the city for one righteous guy?” Why didn’t Abraham press the negotiation down to its logical conclusion? The injustice in the world is bigger than any one person, isn’t it.
 
 Abraham never saw the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. He never saw his nephew Lot, his wife and two daughters lead safely out of the city. All he could do is trust in the mercy and justice of God in an evil world.   Abraham’s prayer balanced his personal need for justice for Lot and his family, with the dictates of communal justice for the wrongdoing of Sodom and Gomorrah. To some extent, in our world, the righteous will suffer with the guilty.  The scriptures are painfully practical about God, the world and the nature of justice this side of the grave. But there is more to the story.
 
Jesus’s prayer
Jesus, in the Gospel of Luke taught the importance of persistence in prayer. Does Abraham’s persistent bargaining with God sound familiar? Later in Luke’s Gospel, Jesus prayed until blood flowed, in the Garden of Gethsemane,

"Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done." Lk. 22:42

 Injustice to one man, balanced against the injustice of humanity on the cross.  All of guilty humanity is spared, because of the injustice done to one innocent man on the cross. The relationship between personal justice and evil in the world is the constant concern of the Old and New Testament. Jesus taught persistence in prayer, because our experience of prayer often enough, but not always, is the silence of God. Abraham was not present to see the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. He did not witness God’s mercy as Lot was lead out of Sodom. Maybe we don't always see the answer to our prayers.  Jesus prays to be spared, but submits to God's will; the right and the good. Prayer is always about the right and the good. That is God's will.