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.
Perhaps, in ancient times, asking came more easily to people. Roman society, politics and economics were built on the principle of patronage. The wealthy and powerful had the resources; everyone else had to ask for what their patrons could provide.
The needy, the votaries, were loyal to their patrons. Able-bodied men fought for their patrons as soldiers; skilled workers offered their abilities; and the unskilled worked the simpler jobs of manual labor. Adept votaries knew the right words when they appealed for help. They understood what their patrons wanted it and they eagerly volunteered to provide for them.
In our economic system, if you have the skill sets you market them to those employees who are looking for those particular abilities. It's not who you know but what you know that's supposed to count in our modern world.
But there was something to say for that ancient world of patronage, of superiors and inferiors. At least they knew each other. There was a relationship between human beings. Work was not simply a commodity to be bought and sold like hog futures on the stock market. Security, which is always in short supply in our volatile world, could be provided between men who looked at each other.
They knew how to ask. In prayer, they didn't suppose that God is a "Principle" of endless resources; rather, they approached God as one who grants favors to his faithful people, just as they approached their "bonny princes."
Today's gospel assures the disciple that so long as she wants to do the will of God, she will have the resources to do it. As wise employers provide the motivation, tools and training to get the job done -- and if they need anything they can ask -- so does God provide for his people. We have only to ask.
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I love to write. This blog helps me to meditate on the Word of God, and I hope to make some contribution to our contemplations of God's Mighty Works.
Ordinarily, I write these reflections two or three weeks in advance of their publication. I do not intend to comment on current events.
I understand many people prefer gender-neutral references to "God." I don't disagree with them but find that language impersonal, unappealing and tasteless. When I refer to "God" I think of the One whom Jesus called "Abba" and "Father", and I would not attempt to improve on Jesus' language.
You're welcome to add a thought or raise a question.