Lot in life

Someone not familiar with the phrases spoken in Western culture may wonder  if there is a connection between Lot, nephew of Abram, in the text from the Book of Genesis chosen for the Roman Catholic Lectionary today and our understanding of our “lot in life”. The MacMillan Dictionary describes some of the meanings of “lot”.  Friar Jude Winkler explains the decision of Abram and Lot to separate to deal with the very scarce pasturage and water resources of Palestine. The concept of “lot” as a small piece of land may touch the nature of the pasturage problem. Friar Jude notes the great generosity of Abram to allow the younger Lot to have first choice. Culturally, Lot should have deferred to the choice of his uncle. The decision of the nephew to “cast his lot” among the people of the plain south of the Dead Sea in Sodom will turn out to be an unfortunate decision. The promise made by God to Abram at Hebron in the hill country where he could see the land before him would not be fulfilled in the lifetime of Abram, yet the trust of the patriarch, who would be renamed Abraham, in God is an example to believers of faith beyond what our rational experiences normally allow. The nature of the believer in the promises of God is expressed by the psalmist as one who “stands by his oath even to his hurt”. The Gospel from Matthew presents some wisdom sayings which are means to encapsulate in clichés the direction offered for our lives by those who have experienced the journey before us. The disciple on the journey should not become frustrated with those who react aggressively against the message. The graphic description of pearls thrown before swine puts the responsibility for the reaction with the disciple. The “golden rule” which Jesus puts in the positive sense was offered as wisdom by Rabbi Hillel in Jerusalem at about the time of Jesus birth. The generosity of Abram, the righteousness of the believer in the psalm and the self sacrifice and detachment from material things of the traveller entering through the narrow gate will equip the disciple of today with a lot of wisdom to choose the fertile pastures for his life mission.