everyone who asks, receives

Jesus assures us that whatsoever you ask, you will be given. The door you knock upon will be opened and what you seek, you will find. In the past I had understood this passage differently than I do now. I thought of it as simply an assurance that God would answer our prayers, especially if we are persistent. I thought of this as a passage that promised us that God would give us good things if only we asked for good things. This past week or so as I began to reflect upon it differently. I began to understand that Jesus is teaching us basic spiritual truths. I think Jesus is teaching us the truth that we both individually and collectively live the spiritual reality that we create for ourselves. If we seek peace, then we will find peace. If we seek love, then we will find love. If we seek fame, then we will find fame. If we seek financial well-being, then that too we will too often find. The problem is that each choice has its own consequences. We are living in a world that has been created by the consequences of the choices and actions that we have made both individually and collectively. Our world is the result of the choices and decisions we individually and collectively make.

I think we need to reflect upon what it is that we are seeking in our society and in our personal lives. Our corporations continue to grow and prosper while we have less and less time for each other. More and more of our lives are being consumed with maintaining our lifestyles and providing for our families. I wonder why that is. We live in a democracy where we the people make the choices about the kind of society we live in. Lenin is reported to have said that religion is the opium of the masses. I wonder if the opium of the masses isn't a little material comfort instead. What values will we compromise in order to maintain our standard of living? In Darfur hundreds of thousands of people have been killed. In the streets of Chicago children are shot as they walk down the street. In Iran 12 people were hanged for alleged crimes. In Afghanistan South Korean aid workers are murdered by those they were there to give aid to. In Iraq thousands have suffered and died in this alleged war on terrorism that seems so much worse than the war of terrorism. What is it we are asking for? What is it that we are seeking? What doors are we knocking upon?

I think this gospel passage has to be more than a source of comfort. It must challenge us too. Surely Jesus is not just teaching us to only ask for good things, even if they are good spiritual things, while we neglect everything else that is going on in the world. I don't think Jeuss is telling us that God will reward us for our self concern while there is so much suffering and injustice within the kingdom. No, I think that Jesus is teaching us that we can approach these daunting matters that confront us with confidence and hope. Peace is not a hopeless dream for the idealists of the world. It is not our destiny to kill each other. Our true human nature is not violence even if it at times it seems so. There really is another way and that way is the way of prayer. But prayer is not a selfish request line to God. Prayer is a time to reflect on the kind of kingdom that we seek instead of the kind of kingdom we live in. If we are to ask for God’s kingdom to come we must have an idea of what kind of kingdom we are asking for. We must begin with this idea of God’s kingdom and God’s justice when we pray. If we are to seek forgiveness, then we must give forgiveness. It is not possible to live in forgiveness while harboring hate and resentment. If we are to seek love, then we must live in love. We must start in prayer and then we must become that prayer which we pray much like our physical bodies become the bread that we eat. We become what we consume in our heart and our mind and our body. We are the result of our thoughts and dreams and the actions they give rise to. We can judge the kind of doors we are knocking on by judging the decisions we make on how we spend our time, our energy, our love and our money. Every choice we make is constantly being manifested in our individual lives and ultimately in our collective life. We are living the life we choose. We are responsible for our actions and the impact it has in our lives and in our society. If we are at war with each other, then it is because we have chosen to be at war with each other. The really good news for us is that regardless of how hopeless it might seem, the situation is never without hope. We can make different choices and it begins with the kind of prayer life we have. It always begins with prayer. Our hopes and dreams must be based on God’s idea of mercy and justice and not our own. It is God’s kingdom that we are to seek not ours. As we redirect our prayers to reflect these values, then our world will begin to change. It is not necessary to live in fear and hopelessness. It is not necessary to settle for a little television as the basis for our lives. Our lives can be meaningful and filled with hope and love. There are other options for us, and we can make different decisions about our personal lives as well as for our society. It begins by examining the values we have chosen and the direction we are headed. We must begin where we are at, then we must become aware of what it is we are asking for, and what it is we are seeking. We must reflect upon what kind of doors we are knocking on. Are we looking for purpose filled lives that are directed at facilitating the coming of God’s kingdom, or are we seeking a life that is built around securing our own kingdom? Jesus offers us assurance that the Father in heaven will give his Holy Spirit - his Holy Breath to those who ask. This breath of God will nourishes us and give us the strength to persist in prayer and build up our strength so we can seek not for our kingdom, but for the kingdom of God to come.

bases upon a reflection on Lk 11:1-13