EST C:12, 14-16, 23-25
PS 139:1-2AB, 2CDE-3, 7C-8
PS 51:12A, 14A
MT 7:7-12
Jesus
said to his disciples:
"Ask and it will be given to you;
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.
"Ask and it will be given to you;
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.
In today’s passage, Jesus reminds
us that if we ask, seek, or knock, God will respond. It takes a great deal of
humility to ask God for anything. In our prayers to God, we take before Him our
doubts, fears, and faults and ask for help where we fall short. Before we can
ask God for anything, we must admit our great need for Him. Jesus tells us to
seek and we will find. To seek is to search continuously. It is the classic
“finding God in all things” approach to our lives. In order to find what our
heart is searching for, we need to live in prayerful discernment and open
ourselves up to the movements of the Holy Spirit. Jesus is looking to us to
actively seek Him out in our lives. Lastly, Jesus asks us to knock. This
request takes the humility we learned from asking and the focus we learned from
seeking and brings us before God to await His response. We do not yell for God
at a distance, we knock on the door of His own heart. Coming this close to God
takes vulnerability and a great trust. While awaiting the response of God, it
can often feel like we are holding our breath. Each Lenten season, we are
challenged by the increase in intentionality of prayer, the sacrifices offered,
and the emotional heaviness of the Passion. Lent is meant to test us and to
bring us out of our comfort zone. It is a period of time where we are asking,
seeking, and knocking to know Christ more. When Easter arrives, Jesus fulfills
all we asked for, all we sought, and He opens every door. This is because, at
the core of what we need and want, is the assurance of God and His love for us.
Jesus dying on the cross and rising again provides us the gift of having
complete confidence in God who will always love us and take care of us.
Franki Feinberg is a junior nursing
major from Houston, Texas.
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