The land of Sodom on the day of judgment than for you

16 JULY (Mt 11,20-24)

For Sodom there was only a prayer of intercession on the part of Abraham. Yet the Lord was willing to forgive if he had hardly found ten righteous ones in it.

The men set out from there and looked down toward Sodom; Abraham was walking with them, to see them on their way. The Lord reflected: “Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do, now that he is to become a great and populous nation, and all the nations of the earth are to find blessing in him? Indeed, I have singled him out that he may direct his sons and his posterity to keep the way of the Lord by doing what is right and just, so that the Lord may carry into effect for Abraham the promises he made about him.” Then the Lord said: “The outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is so great, and their sin so grave, that I must go down and see whether or not their actions fully correspond to the cry against them that comes to me. I mean to find out.”

While the two men walked on farther toward Sodom, the Lord remained standing before Abraham. Then Abraham drew nearer to him and said: “Will you sweep away the innocent with the guilty? Suppose there were fifty innocent people in the city; would you wipe out the place, rather than spare it for the sake of the fifty innocent people within it? Far be it from you to do such a thing, to make the innocent die with the guilty, so that the innocent and the guilty would be treated alike! Should not the judge of all the world act with justice?” The Lord replied, “If I find fifty innocent people in the city of Sodom, I will spare the whole place for their sake.” Abraham spoke up again: “See how I am presuming to speak to my Lord, though I am but dust and ashes! What if there are five less than fifty innocent people? Will you destroy the whole city because of those five?” “I will not destroy it,” he answered, “if I find forty-five there.” But Abraham persisted, saying, “What if only forty are found there?” He replied, “I will forebear doing it for the sake of the forty.” Then he said, “Let not my Lord grow impatient if I go on. What if only thirty are found there?” He replied, “I will forebear doing it if I can find but thirty there.” Still he went on, “Since I have thus dared to speak to my Lord, what if there are no more than twenty?” “I will not destroy it,” he answered, “for the sake of the twenty.” But he still persisted: “Please, let not my Lord grow angry if I speak up this last time. What if there are at least ten there?” “For the sake of those ten,” he replied, “I will not destroy it.” (Gen 18,16-32).

Never have either Abraham or Lot preached sound morality in that city. The inhabitants of Nineveh are responsible for conscience, not for rejection of the Word of the Lord. Now we know that it is easy for the conscience to be corrupted, especially when from the maternal womb one lives in the midst of corruption, evil, sin and transgression. God knows the responsibility of every conscience and according to this responsibility he will issue his judgment. For this reason it is forbidden to every man to judge his own brothers.

Then he began to reproach the towns where most of his mighty deeds had been done, since they had not repented. “Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty deeds done in your midst had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would long ago have repented in sackcloth and ashes. But I tell you, it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon on the day of judgment than for you. And as for you, Capernaum: ‘Will you be exalted to heaven? You will go down to the netherworld.’ For if the mighty deeds done in your midst had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day. But I tell you, it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom on the day of judgment than for you.”

Jesus came. He preached, taught and trained. He revealed the truth of his Father. He performed miracles, wonders and endless signs. He consumed his voice calling to conversion and faith in the Gospel. How do to the cities in which he had operated the largest number of miracles and signs respond? With the greatest insensitivity. They welcome miracles. They reject the Word. They take wonders. Discard the truth attested and signified in those miracles and wonders. They make of Christ a kind of magician, but not a mighty Saviour, the Redeemer of their lives. These cities are responsible for the great gift given by God, but refused by them. This is their fault. They did not accept the gift of God. They were flooded with light and preferred to remain in darkness. Due to this choice they are more responsible than the inhabitants of Sodom. These did not choose darkness and rejected light. They always walked in darkness, because no light was ever offered them.

Virgin Mary, Mother of the Redemption, Angels and Saints make us always choose the light.