CCC Cross Reference:
Gn 19 332; Gn 19:1-29 2357
Mt 8:20 2444; Mt 8:26 2610
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Reading 1
Gn 19:15-29
As dawn was breaking, the angels urged Lot on, saying, "On your way!
Take with you your wife and your two daughters who are here,
or you will be swept away in the punishment of Sodom."
When he hesitated, the men, by the LORD's mercy,
seized his hand and the hands of his wife and his two daughters
and led them to safety outside the city.
As soon as they had been brought outside, he was told:
"Flee for your life!
Don't look back or stop anywhere on the Plain.
Get off to the hills at once, or you will be swept away."
"Oh, no, my lord!" Lot replied,
"You have already thought enough of your servant
to do me the great kindness of intervening to save my life.
But I cannot flee to the hills to keep the disaster from overtaking me,
and so I shall die.
Look, this town ahead is near enough to escape to.
It's only a small place.
Let me flee there-it's a small place, is it not?-
that my life may be saved."
"Well, then," he replied,
"I will also grant you the favor you now ask.
I will not overthrow the town you speak of.
Hurry, escape there!
I cannot do anything until you arrive there."
That is why the town is called Zoar.
The sun was just rising over the earth as Lot arrived in Zoar;
at the same time the LORD rained down sulphurous fire
upon Sodom and Gomorrah
from the LORD out of heaven.
He overthrew those cities and the whole Plain,
together with the inhabitants of the cities
and the produce of the soil.
But Lot's wife looked back, and she was turned into a pillar of salt.
Early the next morning Abraham went to the place
where he had stood in the LORD's presence.
As he looked down toward Sodom and Gomorrah
and the whole region of the Plain,
he saw dense smoke over the land rising like fumes from a furnace.
Thus it came to pass: when God destroyed the Cities of the Plain,
he was mindful of Abraham by sending Lot away from the upheaval
by which God overthrew the cities where Lot had been living.
Responsorial Psalm
Ps 26:2-3, 9-10, 11-12
R. (3a) O Lord, your mercy is before my eyes.
Search me, O LORD, and try me;
test my soul and my heart.
For your mercy is before my eyes,
and I walk in your truth.
R. O Lord, your mercy is before my eyes.
Gather not my soul with those of sinners,
nor with men of blood my life.
On their hands are crimes,
and their right hands are full of bribes.
R. O Lord, your mercy is before my eyes.
But I walk in integrity;
redeem me, and have mercy on me.
My foot stands on level ground;
in the assemblies I will bless the LORD.
R. O Lord, your mercy is before my eyes.
Gospel
Mt 8:23-27
As Jesus got into a boat, his disciples followed him.
Suddenly a violent storm came up on the sea,
so that the boat was being swamped by waves;
but he was asleep.
They came and woke him, saying,
"Lord, save us! We are perishing!"
He said to them, "Why are you terrified, O you of little faith?"
Then he got up, rebuked the winds and the sea,
and there was great calm.
The men were amazed and said, "What sort of man is this,
whom even the winds and the sea obey?"
Readings from the Jerusalem Bible
First reading Genesis 19:15-29
The angels urged Lot, ‘Come, take your wife and these two daughters of yours, or you will be overwhelmed in the punishment of the town.’ And as he hesitated, the men took him by the hand, and his wife and his two daughters, because of the pity the Lord felt for him. They led him out and left him outside the town.
As they were leading him out he said, ‘Run for your life. Neither look behind you nor stop anywhere on the plain. Make for the hills if you would not be overwhelmed.’ ‘No, I beg you, my lord,’ Lot said to them ‘your servant has won your favour and you have shown great kindness to me in saving my life. But I could not reach the hills before this calamity overtook me, and death with it. The town over there is near enough to flee to, and is a little one. Let me make for that – is it not little? – and my life will be saved.’ He answered, ‘I grant you this favour too, and will not destroy the town you speak of. Hurry, escape to it, for I can do nothing until you reach it.’ That is why the town is named Zoar.
As the sun rose over the land and Lot entered Zoar, the Lord rained on Sodom and Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the Lord. He overthrew these towns and the whole plain, with all the inhabitants of the towns, and everything that grew there. But the wife of Lot looked back, and was turned into a pillar of salt.
Rising early in the morning Abraham went to the place where he had stood before the Lord, and looking towards Sodom and Gomorrah, and across all the plain, he saw the smoke rising from the land, like smoke from a furnace.
Thus it was that when God destroyed the towns of the plain, he kept Abraham in mind and rescued Lot out of disaster when he overwhelmed the towns where Lot lived.
Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 25(26):2-3,9-12
Your love, O Lord, is before my eyes.
Examine me, Lord, and try me;
O test my heart and my mind,
for your love is before my eyes
and I walk according to your truth.
Your love, O Lord, is before my eyes.
Do not sweep me away with sinners,
nor my life with bloodthirsty men
in whose hands are evil plots,
whose right hands are filled with gold.
Your love, O Lord, is before my eyes.
As for me, I walk the path of perfection.
Redeem me and show me your mercy.
My foot stands on level ground:
I will bless the Lord in the assembly.
Your love, O Lord, is before my eyes.
Gospel Matthew 8:23-27
Jesus got into the boat followed by his disciples. Without warning a storm broke over the lake, so violent that the waves were breaking right over the boat. But he was asleep. So they went to him and woke him saying, ‘Save us, Lord, we are going down!’ And he said to them, ‘Why are you so frightened, you men of little faith?’ And with that he stood up and rebuked the winds and the sea; and all was calm again. The men were astounded and said, ‘Whatever kind of man is this? Even the winds and the sea obey him.’
Readings and Commentary from the Navarre Bible
Tuesday of the 13th Week in Ordinary Time
From: Genesis 19:15-29
The Flight of Lot and His Family
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[15] When morning dawned, the angels urged Lot, saying, "Arise, take your wife and your two daughters who are here, lest you be consumed in the punishment of the city." [16] But he lingered; so the men seized him and his wife and his two daughters by the hand, the Lord being merciful to him, and they brought him forth and set him outside the city. [17] And when they had brought them forth, they said, "Flee for your life; do not look back or stop anywhere in the valley; flee to the hills, lest you be consumed." [18] And Lot said to them, "Oh, no, my lords; [19] behold, your servant has found favor in your sight, and you have shown me great kindness in saving my life; but I cannot flee to the hills, lest the disaster overtake me, and I die. [20] Behold, yonder city is near enough to flee to, and it is a little one. Let me escape there--is it not a little one?--and my life will be saved!" [21] He said to him, "Behold, I grant you this favor also, that I will not overthrow the city of which you have spoken. [22] Make haste, escape there; for I can do nothing till you arrive there." Therefore the name of the city was called Zoar.
The Destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah
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[23] The sun had risen on the earth when Lot came to Zoar.
[24] Then the Lord rained on Sodom and Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the Lord out of heaven; [25] and he overthrew those cities, and all the valley, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and what grew on the ground. [26] But Lot's wife behind him looked back, and she became a pillar of salt. [27] And Abraham went early in the morning to the place where he had stood before the Lord; [28] and he looked down toward Sodom and Gomorrah and toward all the land of the valley, and beheld, and lo, the smoke of the land went up like the smoke of a furnace.
[29] So it was that, when God destroyed the cities of the valley, God remembered Abraham, and sent Lot out of the midst of the overthrow, when he overthrew the cities in which Lot dwelt.
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Commentary:
19:24 The ruins of Sodom and Gomorrah probably lie under the waters of the Dead Sea, to the south. The biblical account interprets the disappearance of these cities as being the result of some terrible cataclysm, which God sent as a punishment for the sins of their inhabitants.
Throughout the Bible one meets many references to the dramatic destruction of these two cities and the land round about (now desolate) as an instance of the rigor of divine punishment (cf. Deut 29:22; Is 13-19; Jer 49:18; etc.) from which Israel is preserved in spite of its sins, thanks to the faithfulness of a small remnant (cf. Is 1:9) and from which righteous men are also preserved (cf. Wis 10:6-7). Our Lord Jesus Christ compares the punishment inflicted on Sodom and Gomorrah to that which will come on the day of Judgment and which will be even greater (cf. Mt 10:15; 11:23-24), and he invites us to bear that cataclysm in mind, so as always to be on the watch (cf. Lk 17:28-30).
As happened at the time of the flood from which Noah was saved (cf. Gen 6:8-12), God "by turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah to ashes condemned them to extinction and made of them an example to those who were to be ungodly; and if he rescued righteous Lot, greatly distressed by the licentiousness of the wicked (for by what that righteous man saw and heard as he lived among them, he was vexed in his righteous soul day after day with their lawless deeds), then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trial, and to keep the unrighteous under punishment until the day of judgment, and especially those who indulge in the lust of defiling passion and despise authority" (2 Pet 2:6-10).
19:26. The story of Lot's wife is a warning not to turn back once one has set out on one's way. Our Lord reminds us about it, applying it to the fact that we cannot foresee the day of Judgment (cf. Lk 17:32). Christian tradition has applied it to the need to persevere in one's good resolutions, Here is what one ancient writer says: "Lot's wife, who was turned into a pillar of salt, is an example to the simple, that they should not look back with sick curiosity when they are advancing to a holy resolution" (Quodvultdeus, "De Promissionibus", 1). And, applying the same image to the Christian vocation, St. Josemaria Escrivá exhorts: "You have seen very clearly that you are a child of God. Even if you were never again to see it --it won't happen! -- you should continue along your way forever, out of a sense of faithfulness, without ever looking back" ("The Forge", 420).
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From: Matthew 8:23-27
The Calming of the Storm
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[23] And when He (Jesus) got into the boat, His disciples followed Him. [24] And behold, there arose a great storm on the sea, so that the boat was being swamped by the waves; but He was asleep. [25] And they went and woke Him, saying, "Save us, Lord; we are perishing." [26] And He said to them, "Why are you afraid, O men of little faith?" Then He rose and rebuked the winds and the sea; and there was a great calm. [27] And the men marvelled, saying, "What sort of man is this, that even winds and sea obey Him?"
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Commentary:
23-27. This remarkable miracle left a deep impression on Jesus' disciples, as can be seen from the fact that the first three evangelists all report it. Christian Tradition has applied this miracle in various ways to the life of the Church and the experience of the individual soul. From earliest times Christian art and literature have seen the boat as representing the Church, which also has to make its way around hazards which threaten to capsize it. Indeed, very early on, Christians were persecuted in various ways by Jews of their time, and were misunderstood by the public opinion of a pagan society--which also began to persecute them. Jesus' sleeping through the storm has been applied to the fact that sometimes God seems not to come to the Church's rescue during persecution. Following the example of the Apostles in the boat, Christians should seek Jesus' help, borrowing their words, "Save us, Lord; we are perishing". Then, when it seems we can bear it no longer, Jesus shows His power: "He rose and rebuked the winds and the sea; and there was a great calm"--but first rebuking us for being men of little faith. Quite often Gospel accounts are meant to serve as examples to us: they epitomize the future history of the Church and of the individual Christian soul.
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Source: "The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries". Biblical text from the Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries by members of the Faculty of Theology, University of Navarre, Spain.
Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and by Scepter Publishers in the United States. We encourage readers to purchase The Navarre Bible for personal study. See Scepter Publishers for details.
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