Memorial of Saint Irenaeus, Bishop and Martyr
June 28, 2021
Memorial of Saint Irenaeus, Bishop and Martyr
Lectionary: 377
Reading I
Abraham and the men who had visited him by the Terebinth of Mamre
set out from there and looked down toward Sodom;
Abraham was walking with them, to see them on their way.
The LORD reflected: “Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do,
now that he is to become a great and populous 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 after him
to keep the way of the LORD
by doing what is right and just,
so that the LORD may carry into effect for Abraham
the promises he made about him.”
Then the LORD said:
“The outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is so great,
and their sin so grave,
that I must go down and see whether or not their actions
fully correspond to the cry against them that comes to me.
I mean to find out.”
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?
Suppose there were fifty innocent people in the city;
would you wipe out the place, rather than spare it
for the sake of the fifty innocent people within it?
Far be it from you to do such a thing,
to make the innocent die with the guilty,
so that the innocent and the guilty would be treated alike!
Should not the judge of all the world act with justice?”
The LORD replied,
“If I find fifty innocent people in the city of Sodom,
I will spare the whole place for their sake.”
Abraham spoke up again:
“See how I am presuming to speak to my Lord,
though I am but dust and ashes!
What if there are five less than fifty innocent people?
Will you destroy the whole city because of those five?”
He answered, “I will not destroy it if I find forty-five there.”
But Abraham persisted, saying, “What if only forty are found there?”
He replied, “I will forbear doing it for the sake of forty.”
Then Abraham said, “Let not my Lord grow impatient if I go on.
What if only thirty are found there?”
He replied, “I will forbear doing it if I can find but thirty there.”
Still Abraham went on,
“Since I have thus dared to speak to my Lord,
what if there are no more than twenty?”
He answered, “I will not destroy it for the sake of the twenty.”
But he still persisted:
“Please, let not my Lord grow angry if I speak up this last time.
What if there are at least ten there?”
He replied, “For the sake of those ten, I will not destroy it.”
The LORD departed as soon as he had finished speaking with Abraham,
and Abraham returned home.
Responsorial Psalm
- (8a) The Lord is kind and merciful.
Bless the LORD, O my soul;
and all my being, bless his holy name.
Bless the LORD, O my soul,
and forget not all his benefits.
R. The Lord is kind and merciful.
He pardons all your iniquities,
he heals all your ills.
He redeems your life from destruction,
he crowns you with kindness and compassion.
R. The Lord is kind and merciful.
Merciful and gracious is the LORD,
slow to anger and abounding in kindness.
He will not always chide,
nor does he keep his wrath forever.
R. The Lord is kind and merciful.
Not according to our sins does he deal with us,
nor does he requite us according to our crimes.
For as the heavens are high above the earth,
so surpassing is his kindness toward those who fear him.
R. The Lord is kind and merciful.
Alleluia
- Alleluia, alleluia.
If today you hear his voice,
harden not your hearts.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel
When Jesus saw a crowd around him,
he gave orders to cross to the other shore.
A scribe approached and said to him,
“Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go.”
Jesus answered him, “Foxes have dens and birds of the sky have nests,
but the Son of Man has nowhere to rest his head.”
Another of his disciples said to him,
“Lord, let me go first and bury my father.”
But Jesus answered him, “Follow me,
and let the dead bury their dead.”
Reflection: ABRAHAM, THE FRIEND OF GOD
One of the most beautiful stories in the book of Genesis is Abraham's plea to God on behalf of the sinful towns of Sodom and Gomorrah. In the first place, God himself feels that he should not keep any secret from his "friend" and shares his inner thoughts! It is wonderful to know that when God chooses a person for a particular mission, he reveals his inner self to him. The mystics have always enjoyed such a privilege. And they, in turn, are bold in their demands from God, not for their own gain, but on behalf of others, particularly sinners. Abraham tests God's patience very hard, but God is benevolent till the end. Let us stretch this logic a bit further, through our imagination. Supposing Abraham continued and said that if there were only one righteous person, or not even one in those towns, would God destroy them? Now, God would be in a dilemma - to do or not to do! They deserved punishment, no doubt. But he needed at least a flimsy justification for averting the destruction! But there is no one, for all men are sinners in front of God! Hence God has no other alternative but to "send” a “just one" from outside, but make that person truly a person who belonged to this Sodom and Gomorrah, i.e., to incarnate him in the flesh of humanity and this society. Outside of humanity there was only his Son! So, God finally decided to send his Son to find that justification in order to save us, while we were still all sinners! This is the logical end of Abraham's negotiations with Yahweh! Wonderful. God himself came and became one of us to create that justification for not destroying us. Such a solution could have appeared only to an all loving divine mind!