You wouldn’t think that the dialogue between Abraham and God in the first reading was prayer. Yet, if prayer is a dialogue between the human person and God, then Abraham’s ‘bromance’ with God was certainly a lofty dialogue, where tenderness, veneration, and boldness fuse admirably together (Motte). Though Jesus taught his disciples the “Our Father” as a model prayer, his further explanation of prayer depicted a dialogue between two friends, where one relied on his friendship with the other to solve a need. Similarly, Abraham was relying on his friendship with God to petition for his mercy on the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah.
What was the problem with these cities? The passage of the Bible we read today does not explicitly tell us but indicates that it was an outcry so grave as to call for the immediate wrath of God. Later interpretations and passages suggest the sins of Sodom and Gomorrah to include homosexuality, lesbianism, bestiality, and necrophilia. I understand western society has ‘overgrown’ calling some of these acts sinful and laws have been advanced in many to normalize, at least, the first two, for now. Possibly, in the near future, you may end up in jail if you suggest that these acts are sinful. I want to steer clear of controversies (not because I fear the billion dollar gay lobby and its attacks) but because we have become so insulated from reasoned discourse that the only winning argument in our day is a ‘forced’ one. We no longer search for truth: neither of science, nor of spirituality, nay reality itself. We merely practice forcing, with our collapsing ivory towers leading the way.
Be that as it may, scripture is clear about sin and its effects on people, cities, and nations. As grave as scripture describes them, people who find themselves struggling with the sins of Sodom and Gomorrah or inclinations to these acts should not lose hope but trust in the love and mercy of God to deliver and free them. Rather than shout at each other, condemn and counter-condemn, we ought to join team-Abraham in bargaining with God to spare his people, for we often pursue foolishly our cravings rather than follow the ways marked for us which lead to happiness. But choosing to remain hardened in sin ...any sin, and aligning with pressure groups that intimidate others and refer to them as “hateful” because they don’t agree with a particular lifestyle does violence to love and freedom. Let the shouting match stop!
Abraham was relentless in prayer, hoping to get the best deal he could, not for himself but for a city that was on the verge of facing divine wrath. He didn’t want to ruin his chances or jeopardize the deal; so, little by little, he asks for more and more. It must have surprised him the ease with which he received everything for which he prayed. It shows that there’s something in the asking, in the persistence. Jesus emphasized this persistence when he tells the story of the friend at midnight who wouldn’t take ’no’ for answer. He tells us to keep asking, keep seeking, and keep knocking. The English translation creates the sense that you just ask. The Vulgate says: “petite, querite, et pulsate.” These verbs in Latin are in the continuous tense and reflect better the persistence that Jesus enjoins.
Why wouldn’t God hear it once and act? Is He a little hard of hearing? No, He isn’t. We sometimes get stuck in “prayer traffic” and only the patient and determined arrive. In the line before you are the Blessed Mother and the saints receiving benefits for the vast number who send their requests through them. You must keep asking, seeking and knocking until it’s your turn. If you lose heart and turn away, you’re a loser. You could also be asking for sunshine in order to get a good tan while the farmer is asking for rain to grow the vegetables for you to feed. Judge for yourself which is more important in God’s economy? That’s why an important line in your prayer should say: “Your will be done” (Mtt 6:10).
Fr. Chukwudi Jo Okonkwo