Fifth Sunday of Easter, Year B
First Reading: Acts 9:26-30
Second Reading: 1 Jn 3:18-24
Gospel Reading: Jn 15:1-8
We hear the theme of this Sunday’s Mass in the Entrance Antiphon: “The earth is full of the goodness of the Lord.”
In the First Reading, Peter and John have just cured a cripple. In the Second Reading, God calls us his children. In the Gospel Reading, Jesus calls himself “the good shepherd.”
“Would one of you hand his son a stone when he asks for a loaf, or a poisonous snake when he asks for a fish?” Jesus asked. “If you, with all your sins, know how to give your children what is good, how much more will your heavenly Father give good things to anyone who asks him!”
C.S. Lewis’ wife was haunted all one morning by the feeling that God was at her elbow, so to speak, demanding her attention. She expected that, as usual, it would be a question of some unrepented sin or neglected duty, but when she gave in and faced him, the message was, “I want to give you something,” and instantly she was filled with joy.
Lewis’ imaginary devil Screwtape complains that God has “filled his world full of pleasures. There are things for humans to do all day long without his minding in the least,” like “sleeping, washing, eating, drinking, making love, playing, praying, working.”
Jesus taught us to ask God for what we need: “Give us this day our daily bread.” St. Paul told us to “present” our needs to God. “Petitionary” prayer (what we usually mean by “praying”) consists of “requesting good things from God,” says the Catechism of the Catholic Church.
Of course, the Catechism notes, God already knows what we want, but he waits for us to ask because our dignity as his children lies in our freedom. In the parable of the “unjust judge,” Jesus told us to keep on “requesting good things from God” with urgency and patience, without losing heart.
Now if God wants to give us good things, as Jesus said, why does he not always give us what we ask for, like health in our families, secure and satisfactory jobs, the conversion of our spouses, or deliverance from temptation?
As fallen human beings, we should expect that often, through selfishness or ignorance, we will ask for things that are not good, either for others or for us. God cannot grant these requests any more than a parent can grant a small child’s request for a razor blade, “for he desires our well-being, our life.” But that is not the whole answer.
God wants to give us not just the good thing we are asking for, but “something even greater,” says the Catechism. However, he cannot give us what we are incapable of receiving. Accordingly, he tells us to exercise our desire in prayer, so that while we “cling to him in prayer,” he can transform our “praying heart,” making us “able to receive what he is prepared to give.”
It is more important to ask than to get what we ask for, says the Catechism. By asking, “we express awareness of our relationship with God,” the giver, who, in giving, gives not just what we ask for, but the far more precious gift of himself.
As an analogy, consider the balance ball used in physical exercise. The person exercising lies flat-out on the ball and tries to balance. But it is more important to attempt balance than it is to achieve balance, for it is in the attempt that we use our muscles. (A long two-by-four, carefully placed on the ball, could remain balanced.)
We should always thank God for good things. We should pray persistently for them. But we should realize that in praying, we are not rubbing a magic lamp, but making a request of a loving Father, who not only wants to give us what is best, but who also knows what is best.
Father Hawkswell is again teaching “The Catholic Faith in Plain English.” All the materials (video and print) are available online free of charge at beholdvancouver.org/catholic-faith-course. Session 32, “Catholic Spiritualities,” will be available April 25.
