The lectionary is structured so that the Old Testament and Gospel readings are thematically related each Sunday. The relationships for the 17th Sunday in Ordinary Time are not so obvious. Maybe the word that connects the two is "enough."
Too often we act on the subconscious belief that "if a little is good, more is better." Then we find that no amount is enough. We need only look at celebrities such as Tiger Woods or Lindsey Lohan to see where this leads. Yet is not just celebrities who have this problem. We all know people who can't get enough work, food, possessions, time looking at facebook, knowledge, etc.
Gregory Pierce, in his book Spirituality at Work: 10 Ways to Balance Your Life on the Job sets forth ten disciplines, Number nine is "Deciding how much is enough - and sticking to it." (Go here for my review.) Setting goals is good. Reaching them is also good. Continually striving for higher goals can be self destructive - as Toyota discovered when its growth led to apparent safety compromises.
So, how does this relate to the readings? In Gen. 18:20-32 We find Abraham asking the Lord how many righteous ones he must find in order to save Sodom. As he negotiates he finds that even ten are enough. In Luke 11:1-13 we are told to pray for our daily bread. We need not fear that we will not have enough for tomorrow. We can ask for that tomorrow. Further, when we seek the care of God we can be sure that any gifts will be helpful, not harmful. Jesus asks: "What father among you would hand his son a snake when he asks for a fish?" We can be sure that God knows how to give good gifts.
Are we sure we won't get enough of the right things for tomorrow? On a human level, we can never be absolutely certain - but we can turn our lives over to the care of God today. That will be enough for today. We can do the same tomorrow.
Interesting treatment of the readings.
Posted by: Mary Martha Pazos | July 24, 2010 at 09:14 PM