First Reading

Book of Genesis (Gn 18: 16-33)

Will you sweep away the innocent with the guilty?

Abraham and the men who had visited him by the Terebinth of Mamre
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 children and his household after him
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?”

He answered,

“I will not destroy it if I find forty-five there.”

But Abraham persisted, saying,

“What if only forty are found there?”

He replied,

“I will forbear doing it for the sake of forty.”

Then Abraham said,

“Let not my Lord grow impatient if I go on.
What if only thirty are found there?”

He replied,

“I will forbear doing it if I can find but thirty there.”

Still Abraham went on,

“Since I have thus dared to speak to my Lord,
what if there are no more than twenty?”

He answered,

“I will not destroy it 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?”

He replied,

“For the sake of those ten, I will not destroy it.”

The LORD departed as soon as he had finished speaking with Abraham,
and Abraham returned home.

— The word of the Lord.

Responsorial Psalm

Ps 103: 1b-2, 3-4, 8-9, 10-11

The Lord is kind and merciful.

Bless the LORD, O my soul;
and all my being, bless his holy name.
Bless the LORD, O my soul,
and forget not all his benefits.

He pardons all your iniquities,
he heals all your ills.
He redeems your life from destruction,
he crowns you with kindness and compassion.

Merciful and gracious is the LORD,
slow to anger and abounding in kindness.
He will not always chide,
nor does he keep his wrath forever.

Not according to our sins does he deal with us,
nor does he requite us according to our crimes.
For as the heavens are high above the earth,
so surpassing is his kindness toward those who fear him.

Gospel

Alleluia, alleluia.

If today you hear his voice,
harden not your hearts.

Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Matthew (Mt 8: 18-22)

Follow me.

When Jesus saw a crowd around him,
he gave orders to cross to the other shore.
A scribe approached and said to him,

“Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go.”

Jesus answered him,

“Foxes have dens and birds of the sky have nests,
but the Son of Man has nowhere to rest his head.”

Another of his disciples said to him,

“Lord, let me go first and bury my father.”

But Jesus answered him,

“Follow me,
and let the dead bury their dead.”

— The Gospel of the Lord.

First Reading

Second Book of Kings (2 Kgs 4: 8-11, 14-16a)

That is a holy man of God.

One day Elisha came to Shunem,
where there was a woman of influence, who urged him to dine with her.
Afterward, whenever he passed by, he used to stop there to dine.
So she said to her husband,

“I know that Elisha is a holy man of God.
Since he visits us often, let us arrange a little room on the roof
and furnish it for him with a bed, table, chair, and lamp,
so that when he comes to us he can stay there.”

Sometime later Elisha arrived and stayed in the room overnight.

Later Elisha asked,

“Can something be done for her?”

His servant Gehazi answered,

“Yes!
She has no son, and her husband is getting on in years.”

Elisha said,

“Call her.”

When the woman had been called and stood at the door,
Elisha promised,

“This time next year
you will be fondling a baby son.”

— The word of the Lord.

Responsorial Psalm

Ps 89: 2-3, 16-17, 18-19

For ever I will sing the goodness of the Lord.

The promises of the LORD I will sing forever,
through all generations my mouth shall proclaim your faithfulness.
For you have said, ”My kindness is established forever;”
in heaven you have confirmed your faithfulness.

Blessed the people who know the joyful shout;
in the light of your countenance, O LORD, they walk.
At your name they rejoice all the day,
and through your justice they are exalted.

You are the splendor of their strength,
and by your favor our horn is exalted.
For to the LORD belongs our shield,
and to the Holy One of Israel, our king.

Second Reading

Letter of Saint Paul to the Romans (Rom 6: 3-4, 8-11)

Having been buried with him through baptism into death, we might live in newness of life.

Brothers and sisters:
Are you unaware that we who were baptized into Christ Jesus
were baptized into his death?
We were indeed buried with him through baptism into death,
so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead
by the glory of the Father,
we too might live in newness of life.

If, then, we have died with Christ,
we believe that we shall also live with him.
We know that Christ, raised from the dead, dies no more;
death no longer has power over him.
As to his death, he died to sin once and for all;
as to his life, he lives for God.
Consequently, you too must think of yourselves as dead to sin
and living for God in Christ Jesus.

— The word of the Lord.

Gospel

Alleluia, alleluia.

You are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation;
announce the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.

Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Matthew (Mt 10: 37-42)

Whoever does not take up his cross is not worthy of me. Whoever receives you receives me.

Jesus said to his apostles:

“Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me,
and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me;
and whoever does not take up his cross
and follow after me is not worthy of me.
Whoever finds his life will lose it,
and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.

Whoever receives you receives me,
and whoever receives me receives the one who sent me.
Whoever receives a prophet because he is a prophet
will receive a prophet's reward,
and whoever receives a righteous man
because he is a righteous man
will receive a righteous man's reward.
And whoever gives only a cup of cold water
to one of these little ones to drink
because the little one is a disciple—
amen, I say to you, he will surely not lose his reward.”

— The Gospel of the Lord.