Saturday after Epiphany

Lectionary: 217

We have this confidence in him
that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. 
And if we know that he hears us in regard to whatever we ask,
we know that what we have asked him for is ours.

It's easy to miss the point entirely when we hear promises like, "Ask and you shall receive" and, "Seek and you shall find;" and "Say to this mountain "Be moved into the sea!' and it will be moved. 

The Lord's promises are not about giving us more stuff or more power. As Jesus said, "The Lord knows what we need before we ask!" 

Rather, they are invitations to know him and to trust in him as we suffer the disappointments and enjoy the blessings of an unpretentious, inauspicious way of life. They are 

"more desirable than gold, 

than a hoard of purest gold, 

sweeter also than honey or 

drippings from the comb.  Psalm 19:11

Saying that sort of thing at the wrong time or to the wrong party usually comes off badly. It sounds treacly sentimental, like something found in a Hallmark holiday greeting. 

But there is a time even for Hallmark truisms and, during those occasional moments -- perhaps as we reflect at the end of the Christmas season -- it is good to remember how the Lord has accompanied us at every step of the way. If planning for Christmas was too demanding, and the celebrations too noisy, and we're more than relieved that it's over now, we have nonetheless come through with our faith intact. He has been there too. 

We might imagine the excitement of the guests in Cana, suddenly gifted -- I hate that word -- with thirty gallons of the finest wine. They might have known that Jesus provided the windfall but they had no idea what it meant, how much it actually cost, or how much more there is for those who take up their cross and follow him to Calvary. They might have fallen all over themselves in loud, boisterous praise of him as they fell into an alcoholic stupor. 

"...we know that what we have asked him for is ours." 

Yes, he has it in his possession, and he gives it to us according to his plan, and on his schedule. When it comes we know where it came from and we take no credit for it. We are only witnesses who testify to what we see and hear. For knowing the Lord is sweeter than honey and purer than refined gold. Or, as Saint Francis repeatedly said, "You are good, all good, supreme, Lord God, living and true.