A few days ago, I was with some friends, and we began to discuss the first things we would do when, by the grace of God, we reach heaven. I shared that the first thing I would do would be to ask God, “Why did you love me so much while I was on earth? I know I messed up a lot, yet you did not stop loving me. What did I do to merit the love? Why did you fight all my battles for me?” I added that I would move next to some biblical figures to ask them some questions about their roles in the bible that are not clear to me. One of the prominent names on my list is Abraham. I plan to ask him, “Father Abraham, why? Why did you stop at ten? Why not five, four, or three?”
Today’s first reading recounts the bargain between God and Abraham. When eventually the messengers of God arrive at Sodom, they find only three or four innocent people, namely Lot, his wife, and their two daughters. We may not be confident enough to include Lot’s wife in the list of the innocent, as she eventually ends up as a pillar of salt along the way. I wonder why Abraham stopped at ten. If only he had not given up but continued to three, Sodom and Gomorrah would have been saved.
Abraham stood before God interceding for Sodom and Gomorrah. It seemed Abraham was daring when he started, “Will you sweep away the righteous with the wicked?” What if there are fifty righteous people? Forty-five? Forty? Thirty? Twenty? Ten? And God says “Yes” every single time. God was not tired of granting his request. But then, Abraham stopped. He stopped at ten. Every time I hear or read this story, I am compelled to wonder: Why? Why did he stop there? Why not ask for four, three, two, or just one? If God had already said yes to ten, maybe he would have said yes to fewer. So, why did Abraham stop? Eventually, there were not more than ten righteous people there; the fire came and consumed Sodom and Gomorrah.
Maybe Abraham stopped at ten because he thought he had gone far enough. Perhaps he could not imagine that the city was so bad that it had fewer than ten righteous people. Maybe he did not realize the depth of God’s mercy. Reading this story, I still wonder: What kind of God listens patiently as a man bargains with him down from fifty to ten? What kind of God stays in such a conversation, not with anger, but with mercy? Only a God who is all merciful and desires not the death of his creatures; only a God who is on the side of his creatures. He is the God who walked in the garden, calling, “Where are you?” after the fall of humanity. He is the God who sent Moses to deliver his people from bondage in Egypt. He is the God who spared Nineveh through Jonah’s reluctant preaching. He is the God who sent his only son not to condemn the world, but to save it.
Abraham missed a golden opportunity there. I wish he hadn’t given up at ten. The good news is that we live in a time after Abraham. We know better than Abraham. We have seen the cross. We have seen how far God can go and how low he will stoop to save us. In Christ, we see that God will not stop even at one. He will go all the way to the cross and even pray for you, for me, the least, and even for those who crucify him.
Pope Francis in Evangelii Gaudium says,“God never tires of forgiving us; we are the ones who tire of seeking his mercy.” God does not time us when we pray; we are the ones who come to Mass and insist that we must not stay with God beyond a specific time. I wish we knew how much we cheat ourselves with such attitudes. Let us not be afraid to ask boldly; let us not be scared to hope deeply; let us not give up at ten. Because there is no doubt, God is on our side. But in the choices we make, the love we give, the mercy we show, the way we pray, are we on our own side?
Homily for 17th Sunday in Ordinary Time Year C 2025
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