Tuesday of the
Thirteenth Week in Ordinary Time
(Genesis 19:15-29; Matthew 8:23-27)
Today the United States celebrates its existence as a self-governing
nation. Two hundred and forty-one years
ago the founders of the nation declared it independent from the English
monarch. Of course, the new nation had
to defeat the king’s army which was done after a protracted war. Because the peoples of many nations have risen
to shake off oppressive rulers during the summer months, it is not
inappropriate to speak of the relation of patriotism to Godliness today. It is possible to use the readings of the day
for the reflection.
The first reading indicates that blessings on a land do
not make its people virtuous. Lot had chosen
the land to the east because of its great promise. The people there, however, were evidently bent
on evil ways. They mistreated even the
most virtuous of guests among, who can say what, other atrocities. The Lord’s judgment on their crimes could not
be more severe. They are being annihilated.
The gospel shows Jesus’ disciples coming to him at an
hour of crisis. A raging storm is
sinking their boat. They fear for their
lives and beg Jesus for help. No time in
the history of the United States reflects this situation more than its Civil
War. The nation, so wonderfully endowed,
was being torn apart between those who believed in the rights of all humans to freedom
and those who thought that some humans subject to slavery. Graciously the nation’s leader at the time had
a strong sense of biblical justice. Abraham
Lincoln called for “a new birth of freedom” where the “government of the
people, by the people, and for the people shall not perish from the earth.”
All peoples today should appeal to the Lord. We pray to him that our countries may follow
just laws assuring the freedom of all.
We dedicate ourselves to the formation of virtue like his so that wise
leaders may rise up to guide the nation to peace. And we take compassion on the poor with whom
he identified so that they do not lack what they need to prosper.
