Homily for the Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C

Abraham And The Power Of Intercession

Rev. Marcel Divine Emeka Okwara, CSsR

Homily for the Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C

Church of St. Bridget of Minneapolis, MN

Sunday, July 27, 2025

The central spiritual theme in our readings for this weekend is prayer. What is prayer? St. John Damascene defines prayer as “the raising of one’s mind and heart to God or the requesting of good things from God.” This definition reveals that prayer involves two things: a focused attention on God and a request for what is good. Prayer is a special time for God. Although everything a Christian does should be centered on God, prayer time is a sacred moment reserved for God. Nowadays, people talk about “me time.” Following that sense, think of prayer as God’s time. Think of prayer as a conversation between you, God’s child, and your Father, God. 

Our first reading (Genesis 18:20-32) can rightly be called “the Prayer of Abraham for  two sinful cities.” In the passage, we hear that the sin of Sodom and Gomorrah is “so grave” that the Lord decides to wipe them out from the surface of the earth. But before God acted, Abraham approached God 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?” Abraham is praying; he is interceding on behalf of Sodom and Gomorrah. He is asking God to spare the cities for the sake of fifty righteous people. Replying to him, God said, “If I find fifty innocent people in the city of Sodom, I will spare the whole place for their sake.” Pleased by God’s response, Abraham said, “What if there are forty-five innocent people? Will you destroy the whole city?” God answered, “I will not destroy it, if I find forty-five there.” Delighted by God’s response, Abraham persisted in his request: “What if there are only forty innocent people there?” Once again, God promised to spare the city because of those. Greatly encouraged, Abraham then pleaded with God to be patient with him for making further requests, “What if only thirty upright people are found there?” God replied, “I will refrain from destroying it if I can find thirty there.” Emboldened by God’s patience and mercy, Abraham said, “…what if there are only twenty people?” The all-patient God said, “I will not destroy it, for the sake of the twenty.” Grown in greater confidence, Abraham pleaded with the Lord not to be angry with him, for he wanted to make his last request: “What if there are at least ten there?” God replied, “For the sake of those ten, I will not destroy it.” 

What are the spiritual lessons from Abraham’s intercessory prayer? What can we learn from the conversation between God and Abraham? First lesson: It is good to be a friend of God. Abraham can have this conversation with God because he is God's friend. Take this to the bank— if God is your friend, your Abba (Daddy), you can always approach Him and, like Abraham, confidently speak to Him. You won’t be afraid of God. You won’t see Him as a distant figure; rather, someone very close to you. In the words of the great St. Augustine, “God is closer to me than I am to myself.” Respect God, but don’t be afraid of God, for God is, through and through, pure love.

Second lesson: Do not toy with sin. Do not make excuses for your sins. The great American Bishop, Robert Barron, describes sin as a force that not only separates us from God but also diminishes our capacity to flourish and be happy. I tell you, sin always involves alienation from God. It generates within us a sense of shame, fear, and self-consciousness. In the book of Genesis, we hear that after the Fall of Adam and Eve, they went into hiding. Then God called and asked them, “Where are you?” For the omniscient God to ask them that question does not mean he has lost sight of them. He knows exactly where they are. But what is being revealed here is that “sin always involves an alienation from God.” Although God has not lost sight of us, in sin, we have lost sight of Him. We have wandered away. Our first reading says the sin of Sodom and Gomorrah is “so grave.” What does our Church call grave sins? Mortal sin! As a guide, if you have forgotten what mortal sins are, go through the Ten Commandments and consider spending some time reflecting on the seven cardinal sins— pride, greed, lust, envy, gluttony, wrath, and sloth. Whenever you are guilty of any, use the sacrament of confession and reconciliation. 

Third lesson: Our faith calls us to love and care for others. One notable trait of Saint Bridget’s parishioners is their concern for others, especially the materially poor. That is commendable. The corporal works of mercy invite us to feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, shelter the homeless, visit the sick and prisoners, bury the dead, and give alms to the poor. But caring only for others' material needs means expecting them to live by bread alone. The Fathers of the Church remind us that material well-being is only a halfway return to spiritual restoration. While we care about others’ material needs, we should, like Abraham, also intercede for their spiritual well-being. I tell you, the greatest and deepest poverty affecting so many people is spiritual poverty. A lack of awareness of God and disconnection from Him are serious problems. If you don’t have enough in life but have God, you have everything. Even if you cannot meet all your material needs, you will be content and joyful. You won’t spend your time being jealous or envious. You won’t be tempted to steal, nor blame others for your situation, because your greatest inheritance is God. So, pray for others. Pray for your family members who have fallen away from the faith. Act like Abraham and lift them up in prayer. If you've spoken to them about God and they ignore you, stop talking about God to them and start talking to God about them. 

Fourth and final lesson: As a nation, we should be mindful of how foreigners in our land are treated. From the first reading we read, “So the Lord said: The outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is so great…” Where does the outcry come from? It “comes from the victims of the injustice and violence rampant in the city.” It comes from the wicked treatment of the visitors. Sodom and Gomorrah became wicked twin cities because of their lack of social justice, their disregard for the poor, and their violation of the sacred duty of hospitality towards their visitors. As a naturalized US citizen, I sometimes hesitate to speak on immigration issues because it is a hot-button, controversial issue. More to it, my hesitation comes from the fact that I am, in a way, an outsider, and I don’t want someone to say, “The only reason he is soft on immigration is because he, too, is an immigrant.” Regardless of your political affiliations and views, the fact remains that God cares about how foreigners in the land are treated. To be godly, therefore, is to care about those things that God cares about. I think we all can agree on this. God bless you!