8-Oct-15

Gospel LK 11:5-13
Jesus said to his disciples:
“Suppose one of you has a friend
to whom he goes at midnight and says,
‘Friend, lend me three loaves of bread,
for a friend of mine has arrived at my house from a journey
and I have nothing to offer him,’
and he says in reply from within,
‘Do not bother me; the door has already been locked
and my children and I are already in bed.
I cannot get up to give you anything.’
I tell you, if he does not get up to give him the loaves
because of their friendship,
he will get up to give him whatever he needs
because of his persistence.
“And I tell you, ask and you will receive;
seek and you will find;
knock and the door will be opened to you.
For everyone who asks, receives;
and the one who seeks, finds;
and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.
What father among you would hand his son a snake
when he asks for a fish?
Or hand him a scorpion when he asks for an egg?
If you then, who are wicked,
know how to give good gifts to your children,
how much more will the Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit
to those who ask him?”

Reflection
Jesus tells a story, a parable, aimed at teaching a lesson about the nature of God.
The lesson is that we do not need to pester God in prayer, as in the story of the neighbor who reluctantly opened his door to the man's persistent knocking.
Just the opposite is true. The nature of God is such that, loving father that he is, we need only ask and we will receive.
Jesus is not suggesting that our every prayer will be answered in the way we hope for anymore than we would grant our own child's every request. But, as would any parent, our Father will give us what He knows to be best for us.
Jesus goes on to ask us, "How much more will the Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him?”
But there is another side to this coin.
Elsewhere in scripture, we hear the Lord saying, "Listen! I am standing at the door, knocking; if you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in to you and eat with you, and you with me." Revelation 3:20
If I listen to my heart, I hear the Holy Spirit knocking every time I encounter a suffering soul.
The Spirit knocks and my conscience whispers, "help him...do something."
When the Holy Spirit knocks on my heart I am confronted with a choice.
Do I open the door or do I simply continue on my way?
"God promises to guide us through the Holy Spirit, but he gives us the freedom to make our own decisions." Joyce Myer