Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, C
Genesis 18: 20-32
Ps. 138
Colossians 2: 12-14
Luke 11: 1-13

The Scriptures come together today on the notion of coming to God with our needs. In the First Reading, Abraham stands respectfully before the Lord and bargains with Him for the survival of the city of Sodom, counting on God’s integrity: “Should not the judge of all the world act with justice?” The Responsorial Psalm picks up on this concept, and says in its refrain: “Lord, on the day I called for help, You answered me,” and stresses, “The Lord will complete what He has done for me. Your kindness, O Lord, endures for ever; forsake not the works of Your hands.” In the Gospel, Jesus gives us the model of prayer in the Our Father, and then goes on to teach about petitionary prayer. The two readings connect on the concept that one remains constant in prayer, as did Abraham, and as the pushy neighbor in the Gospel.

In the Second Reading, continuing our hearing of the Letter to the Colossians, Paul talks about baptism and its effect on our life: “you not only were buried with [Christ] but also raised to life with Him.” In the death of Jesus for our sakes, God took our i.o.u. (i.e., the “bond that stood against us with all its claims”) and nailed it to the cross—canceling it, forever.

This hymn is based on today’s Scriptures:
"Should not the Judge of all with justice act?"
Thus Abraham with God did make a pact:
"Let God not grow impatient with my speech;
Let innocence not perish in Your reach!"

To teach us faith and constancy in prayer,
Our master Jesus gave us story there:
As friend in need will pester in the night,
So turn to God, the source of good and right.

Each of us, baptized in the Savior's death
Lives in the life of God who gives us breath;
With sin and debt all nailed upon the Cross,
We know new life and count old gains as loss.

10.10.10.10
suggested tune: Sursum Corda

Propers from the Roman Gradual

Introit: Deus in loco sancto suo (Ps. 68:6-7, 36, 2)
God is in his holy place,
God, who causes us to live at unity within a house;
the same God will give power and strength to his people.
The Lord rises and scatters his enemies;
and those who hate him flee from before his face.

Offertory: Exaltabo te (Ps. 30:1-2)
I will magnify you, O Lord, because you lifted me up,
and have not let my enemies triumph over me.
O Lord my God, I cried out to you, and you restored me to health.

Communion: Honora Dominum (Prov. 3:9-10)
Give honor to the Lord with all your wealth and substance,
and with the first fruits of all your produce;
then will your barns be filled to overflowing with the wheat harvest;
with new wine will your vats burst forth and overflow.

alternate: Satiavit Dominus (cf Jn 6:11)
(matches the Gospel in Year B)
The Lord fed five thousand people with five loaves and two fishes.

Propers from the Simple Gradual

The suite of antiphons and psalms from Ordinary Time V (BFW 259–268) —
God’s justice — is especially appropriate.

Offertory: BFW 208 (You have fed your people . . .)
or Offertory: BFW 57 (The Lord has come to help me)
Communion: BFW 210 (I am the living bread . . .)