FIRST READING: Genesis 18:20-32
A reading from Genesis.
20The Lord said, “How great is the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah
and how very grave their sin!
21I must go down and see whether they have done altogether
according to the outcry that has come to me, and if not, I will know.”
22So the men turned from there and went toward Sodom,
while Abraham remained standing before the Lord.
23Then Abraham came near and said,
“Will you indeed sweep away the righteous with the wicked?
24Suppose there are fifty righteous within the city;
will you then sweep away the place and not forgive it
for the fifty righteous who are in it?
25Far be it from you to do such a thing,
to slay the righteous with the wicked,
so that the righteous fare as the wicked! Far be that from you!
Shall not the Judge of all the earth do what is just?”
26And the Lord said, “If I find at Sodom fifty righteous in the city,
I will forgive the whole place for their sake.”
27Abraham answered, “Let me take it upon myself to speak to my lord,
I who am but dust and ashes.
28Suppose five of the fifty righteous are lacking?
Will you destroy the whole city for lack of five?”
And the Lord said, “I will not destroy it if I find forty-five there.”
29Again he spoke to the Lord, “Suppose forty are found there.”
The Lord answered, “For the sake of forty I will not do it.”
30Then Abraham said, “Oh, do not let my lord be angry if I speak.
Suppose thirty are found there.”
The Lord answered, “I will not do it, if I find thirty there.”
31Abraham said, “Let me take it upon myself to speak to my lord.
Suppose twenty are found there.”
The Lord answered, “For the sake of twenty I will not destroy it.”
32Then Abraham said,
“Oh, do not let my lord be angry if I speak just once more.
Suppose ten are found there.”
The Lord answered, “For the sake of ten I will not destroy it.”
Word of God, word of life. or The word of the Lord.
PSALMODY: Psalm 138
SECOND READING: Colossians 2:6-15 [16-19]
A reading from Colossians.
6As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord,
continue to walk in him, 7rooted and built up in him
and established in the faith, just as you were taught,
abounding in thanksgiving.
8Watch out that no one takes you captive
through philosophy and empty deceit,
according to human tradition,
according to the elemental principles of the world,
and not according to Christ.
9For in Christ the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily,
10and you have come to fullness in Christ,
who is the head of every ruler and authority.
11In Christ also you were circumcised with a spiritual circumcision,
by the removal of the body of the flesh in the circumcision of Christ;
12when you were buried with Christ in baptism,
you were also raised with him through faith in the power of God,
who raised him from the dead.
13And when you were dead in trespasses
and the uncircumcision of your flesh,
God made you alive together with Christ,
having forgiven us all our trespasses,
14erasing the record that stood against us with its legal demands.
God set this aside, nailing it to the cross.
15God disarmed the rulers and authorities
and made a public example of them, triumphing over them in the cross.
[16Therefore, do not let anyone condemn you in matters of food or drink
or of observing festivals, new moons, or Sabbaths.
17These are only a shadow of what is to come,
but the body belongs to Christ.
18Do not let anyone disqualify you,
insisting on self-abasement and worship of angels,
initiatory visions, puffed up without cause by a human way of thinking,
19and not holding fast to the head, from whom the whole body,
nourished and held together by its ligaments and tendons,
grows with a growth that is from God.]
Word of God, word of life. or The word of the Lord.
GOSPEL: Luke 11:1-13
The holy gospel according to Luke.
1 ┌ Jesus┐ was praying in a certain place,
and after he had finished, one of his disciples said to him,
“Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples.”
2So Jesus said to them, “When you pray, say:
Father, may your name be revered as holy.
May your kingdom come.
3Give us each day our daily bread.
4And forgive us our sins,
for we ourselves forgive everyone indebted to us.
And do not bring us to the time of trial.”
5And Jesus said to them, “Suppose one of you has a friend,
and you go to that friend at midnight and say,
‘Friend, lend me three loaves of bread,
6for a friend of mine has arrived, and I have nothing to set out.’
7And the friend answers from within, ‘Do not bother me;
the door has already been locked, and my children are with me in bed;
I cannot get up and give you anything.’
8I tell you, even though the friend will not get up
and provide anything out of friendship,
at least because of the neighbor’s persistence
the friend will get up and provide whatever is needed.
9“So I say to you, Ask, and it will be given to you;
search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you.
10For everyone who asks receives, and everyone who searches finds,
and for everyone who knocks, the door will be opened.
11Is there anyone among you who, if your child asked for a fish,
would give a snake instead of a fish?
12Or if the child asked for an egg, would give a scorpion?
13If you, then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children,
how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask!”
The gospel of the Lord.