13th Week in Ord. Time, Tuesday – 4th July 2023 – Genesis 19,15-29; Mt 8, 23-27
Model of Warning
In the first reading, we see the terrible catastrophe of the two cities of Sodom and Gomorrah as a punishment for their terrible immorality. At the pleading of Abraham to save righteous men, the angels urged Lot and his family to flee at once, yet they did not leave easily. Still, God was merciful so that the angels forcibly rescued Lot, his wife and two daughters from the city. It is to be noticed that only the direct relatives of Abraham are brought outside Sodom, while the in-laws are left to their own. After they were out, one of the angels gave them very specific instructions: “Escape for your life. Do not look back or stop anywhere in the valley” (Gen 19,17). Even then, Lot insisted on being allowed to stop in a tiny, nearby town, and the angels granted his desire (Gen 19,20). As Lot and family fled to Zoar town, fire and Sulphur rained down from heaven on Sodom and Gomorrah. The Lord warned them to trust in divine providence and not to look back at the destruction. Lot’s wife disobeyed this order and was punished by being turned into a pillar of salt. The language used here suggest Lot’s wife gazed intently. Not that she merely allowed her eyes to capture the catastrophe, rather Lot’s wife was expressing her continuing affection for the sinful culture of Sodom (Lk 17,31-32). Later in this chapter, Lot’s daughters will also act in a way consistent with a lack of faith in God and reflective of the morality of the godless culture in which they were raised.
