A Father Who Gives the Best Gifts: Reflections on the 17th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Persistence. This is the word that comes to mind as I reflect on the readings for this weekend. Abraham prevails with God until he quits. Imagine what difference his persistence would have made. The man in the Gospel gets his request because he persists. Jesus promises those who ask, seek and knock whatever they need. Persistence gets us what we need. Persistence in prayer says many things. It says what I seek is important; the person from whom I seek it is capable of granting and is willing or has the good will to grant my request; it says I have no alternative otherwise I would not persist. To persist in prayer speaks to our trust in the benevolence of God from whom we seek good things. God knows what we ask for, and is willing and able to give them to us. The lesson in persistence is that God wants us to demonstrate a staying power by persevering. We are accustomed to quick fixes and premature gratifications such that waiting seems outmoded or old fashioned. It seems common for people to quit when things are not going as they want. Sometimes, unbeknownst to us, we quit when we are very near our goal.

While persistence is important in prayer, it is not the main reason we receive what we ask from God. Your children do not receive what they ask simply because they are relentless in their asking. You do not give your children what they relentlessly ask if you know it would do them harm. We do not give in to our friends’ request simply because they will not stop asking. We give to our children and our friends because we love them. We receive from God what we ask because God loves us. We receive from God because he is just and merciful. God wants to give us what we need for our good. Even though we receive what we ask from God because we keep his commandments (1 John 3:22), we do not earn God’s gifts. They are gratuitously given; that is why they are gifts. And the gifts speak of the benevolence of the giver.

Jesus wants us to ask without losing faith. But more importantly, he wants us to believe that God is able and willing to grant what we ask. God is better than the best of us. He is just and merciful. And he is willing to give us every gift we ask for, even the greatest of them all – the Holy Spirit.

This weekend, we ask the intercession of Saints Joachim & Anne (parents of the Blessed Virgin Mary and Grandparents of Jesus) for all Grandparents throughout the world. We thank them for their witness of faith, and the example they provide to families, and especially young people. May their old age be filled with joy and laughter, and may they be blessed with health and vitality. Amen.

May Jesus bless you, and may Our Lady protect you!