Thirteenth Tuesday of Ordinary Time

"Flee for your life! Don't look back or stop anywhere on the Plain. Get off to the hills at once, or you will be swept away." "Oh, no, my lord!" Lot replied, "You have already thought enough of your servant to do me the great kindness of intervening to save my life. But I cannot flee to the hills to keep the disaster from overtaking me, and so I shall die. Look, this town ahead is near enough to escape to. It's only a small place. Let me flee there–it's a small place, is it not?–that my life may be saved." "Well, then," he replied, "I will also grant you the favor you now ask. I will not overthrow the town you speak of.  Hurry, escape there! I cannot do anything until you arrive there."

Lot’s request to flee to a small town instead of the hills might seem odd at first. After all, the angels are telling him to flee for the hills before Sodom and Gomorrah are destroyed by fire and brimstone. Lot thanks the Lord for his kindness, but flatly states that he can’t make it to the hills. We can only guess as to why Lot couldn’t flee all the way to the hills. Perhaps he had a bad knee or hip or some other malady that made the journey impossible for him. Or maybe the hills were dangerous and he feared them. Whatever the reason, the angels consent to this change in plans. Lot is allowed to flee to the small place and be safe from destruction. Although we might not be faced with such dire situations ourselves, sometimes we do face what might seem like overwhelming trials. It is comforting to know that God is willing to listen to our pleas, take into account our abilities, and grant us little favors and small places of respite in the midst of our trials.

What pleas do we need to make to the Lord? Are there trials we are facing which are in dire need of God’s help? Do we truly appreciate how much God listens to our prayers and petitions?

O Lord, listen to our pleas and give us small places to rest in times of trouble.

Amen.