Reading 1
Gn 18:20-32
In those days, 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 Abraham's visitors walked on farther toward Sodom,
the LORD remained standing before Abraham.
Then Abraham drew nearer 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 the 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?"
The LORD 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."
Ps 138:1-2, 2-3, 6-7, 7-8 Responsorial Psalm
R. (3a) Lord, on the day I called for help, you answered me.
I will give thanks to you, O LORD, with all my heart,
for you have heard the words of my mouth;
in the presence of the angels I will sing your praise;
I will worship at your holy temple
and give thanks to your name.
R. Lord, on the day I called for help, you answered me.
Because of your kindness and your truth;
for you have made great above all things
your name and your promise.
When I called you answered me;
you built up strength within me.
R. Lord, on the day I called for help, you answered me.
The LORD is exalted, yet the lowly he sees,
and the proud he knows from afar.
Though I walk amid distress, you preserve me;
against the anger of my enemies you raise your hand.
R. Lord, on the day I called for help, you answered me.
Your right hand saves me.
The LORD will complete what he has done for me;
your kindness, O LORD, endures forever;
forsake not the work of your hands.
R. Lord, on the day I called for help, you answered me.
Col 2:12-14 Reading 2
Brothers and sisters:
You were buried with him in baptism,
in which you were also raised with him
through faith in the power of God,
who raised him from the dead.
And even when you were dead
in transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh,
he brought you to life along with him,
having forgiven us all our transgressions;
obliterating the bond against us, with its legal claims,
which was opposed to us,
he also removed it from our midst, nailing it to the cross.
Lk 11:1-13 Gospel
Jesus was praying in a certain place, and when he had finished,
one of his disciples said to him,
"Lord, teach us to pray just as John taught his disciples."
He said to them, "When you pray, say:
Father, hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come.
Give us each day our daily bread
and forgive us our sins
for we ourselves forgive everyone in debt to us,
and do not subject us to the final test."
And he said to them, "Suppose one of you has a friend
to whom he goes at midnight and says,
'Friend, lend me three loaves of bread,
for a friend of mine has arrived at my house from a journey
and I have nothing to offer him,'
and he says in reply from within,
'Do not bother me; the door has already been locked
and my children and I are already in bed.
I cannot get up to give you anything.'
I tell you,
if he does not get up to give the visitor the loaves
because of their friendship,
he will get up to give him whatever he needs
because of his persistence.
"And I tell you, ask and you will receive;
seek and you will find;
knock and the door will be opened to you.
For everyone who asks, receives;
and the one who seeks, finds;
and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.
What father among you would hand his son a snake
when he asks for a fish?
Or hand him a scorpion when he asks for an egg?
If you then, who are wicked,
know how to give good gifts to your children,
how much more will the Father in heaven
give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him?" |
|
|
|
Catholic Fundamentalism Interpretation:
Then, The Loving Programmer was concerned about the behavior of people in Sodom and Gomorrah. They were intentionally disobeying His Operating Instructions, and had sunken deeply into sin.
So, The Loving Programmer went to personally see what was going on. Normally, we may assume that He would have a Programming Assistant check into this sort of thing, but the problem was so serious that He, Personally, got involved. We are not sure if the two accompanying Him are the other Persons of The Holy Trinity or high-level Programming Assistants, but they walked on ahead, and Abraham asked: "Will you destroy the innocent with the guilty? If there were fifty innocents, would you spare the place?" Abraham tried to get God to do what he, Abraham, thought was right. "Surely you wouldn't treat the innocent and guilty alike?"
The Loving Programmer answered: "If I found fifty innocent people in Sodom, I would spare the whole place."
Abraham picked nits, asking if there were forty five, forty, or thirty innocents, would He destroy the place. He worked it down to twenty, and got it to ten.
The Loving Programmer agreed that He would not destroy the city if only ten innocent people were found within it. He obviously knew there weren't ten innocents within, and, knowing that He would be saving Lot, his wife, and his daughters, that there would be no innocent people in the city.
At this time, we may profitably consider that He is considering the erasure of large parts of the earth, and may wish to maintain our own innocence for the reasons that He made clear in this reading.
Loving Programmer, when I asked You for Programming Assistance, You provided it.
I will give thanks to you, O Loving Programmer with all my heart, because you've heard my requests for programming assistance. In the presence of those who help You, I will praise You, worship at Your Holy Catholic Church and give thanks to Your Name.
Loving Programmer, when I asked You for Programming Assistance, You provided it.
Because You are kindness and truth, You have made Your Name and Your Promise the greatest things in the Creation Program. When I called (on Your Greatness for help) You made my human program strong.
Loving Programmer, when I asked You for Programming Assistance, You provided it.
The Loving Programmer is exalted, yet sees the smallest parts of His Program, and the proud are so offensive that The Very Programs helps Him identify them. Though I walk amid those who would erase me, You keep me operational, and You actually stop other human programs from hurting me.
Loving Programmer, when I asked You for Programming Assistance, You provided it.
Your Program, and Your Programming Assistants save me. You will have my program run as You desire it. Your kindness, O Loving Programmer, lasts forever. Please, do not abandon (me/us) the work of Your incredible Program and Programming Assistants.
Loving Programmer, when I asked You for Programming Assistance, You provided it.
My fellow believers, your earthly concerns, even your earthly bodies, were buried in the tomb with Jesus when you were baptized. That same process raised you with Him, you were reprogrammed with His
Divine Download through your faith in The Loving Programmer's power. He completely restored The Program (Jesus Christ) Who took human form and came among us, and He will/has restored your own programs, even though you were dead through sin and disobedience.
He restored your individual, human programs, bringing you to life and erasing the errors and their effects on our salvation, also erasing any claims that sin may have on us that would send us to Hell. He also removed every debt to sin, nailing it to the cross.
Jesus was praying, and His disciples asked Him to teach them to pray.
He said, "When you pray, say,
'O holy and Loving Programmer, may Your Name be most hallowed by all. (that can only happen when evil is destroyed, as in the First Reading and only believers are left. May Your Kingdom, where all obey You (and no others are), come.
Give us what we need to sustain ourselves and our earthly duties. Forgive us for having hurt, ignored, or disobeyed You to the degree that we forgive those who have hurt, ignored, or disobeyed us. Don't let us be tempted, and keep any entity from leading us into evil."
Then, Jesus, The Program in perfect, obedient, human form, said, "Suppose one of you has a friend whom he wakes up at midnight and says, 'Friend, let me have three loaves of bread, because I have a visitor from a long way away and I've nothing to give him.'
And your neighbor says, without getting up, 'Don't bother me. We're in bed for the night.'
I tell you, if the man is persistent, and keeps asking, he will get the loaves, if not out of the man's friendship, than because he gave in to persistence.
"And I tell you, if you ask for Programming Assistance to help you with what you believing human programs want to program, that Programming Assistance will be provided to you. If you look for it, you'll find it, and if you physically make an effort to get into a desired place, you will be provided the opportunity to enter.
"The Loving Programmer would no more give you something bad for you than you would give a son a snake when he asked for a fish, or a scorpion when he wanted an egg.
"If you know how to give good things to your children, think how much better the things are that The Loving Programmer will provide The Holy Wireless connector to give to His beloved children?"
|