“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.
"....of all the sins of which I am unaware." A phrase I sometimes hear in confession. When my comes, my Number One is my reluctance to ask for help. How many scrapes might have been avoided if I'd simply asked for help?
I suppose a competent counselor could help me explore whatever mini-traumas I suffered in my earlier days to find the origin of this reluctance, but we would probably be following a thread to its origin in the Garden of Eden. Had Eve asked Adam's, "What do you think about this herpetological suggestion?" or, had he asked, "Where did you get that atypical pome?" their decision might have been quite different. That hesitation didn't begin with me, nor will it end anytime soon.
I'd probably do better to go in the other direction, turning to the Lord and saying for once, "I do believe; help my unbelief!" For my reluctance is essentially my doubt that there is Anyone who will help.
And yet my personal history of receiving superabundant help when I was unwilling to ask and utterly helpless is overwhelming. The Lord has been good to me -- always.
I remember one occasion especially. I had asked a fellow to speak to a group, only to learn he needed a ride to and from the occasion. I picked him up in plenty of time but was stuck with taking him home immediately after his presentation, although our group session would continue for another two hours. Could I drive him home and get back in time without inconveniencing everyone?
Of course not. But what could I do?
Out of the blue, a woman volunteered to drive him home. She was going that direction, needed to get back to her home, and wanted to chat further with the fellow.
Thank you, Jesus!
They call it a deus machina. I didn't deserve that rescue.
Asking for help is admitting I am not God. I cannot save myself. I need help. Please.
Prayer is admitting we cannot devise a fix. Nor can we create a technological, medical, political, or financial solution. I hear a lot of people wringing their hands about the environmental crisis but they're unwilling to recognize its origin in sin. That admission would mean we cannot control our reckless waste and our philosophies say, "No help is coming; don't bother to ask."
Called to do penance, I look at my unwillingness to ask God or anyone else for help. Helpless like Mary Magdalene, I turn and turn again to the Lord. And I ask, seek, and knock until the door is opened.
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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.