Daily Reflection for Thursday February 25, 2021
Peace and Blessings, Friends and Parishioners,
We encourage you to reflect on Thursday’s readings at this link: Click Here
If you prefer to use your own Bible, the readings are:
First Reading: Esther C:12,14-16, 23-25
Responsorial: Psalm 138:1-3, 7c-8
Gospel: Matthew 7:7-12
Our reflection on Thursday’s readings:
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.’ Matthew 7:7
So often I’ve heard people say that God doesn’t answer their prayers. They give up on prayer and, sometimes, even on God himself. I admit that I have often been disappointed and felt let down by God. Seeing some of the struggles that others have gone through, I can see why some might be tempted to give up and think that prayer doesn’t work. It’s easy to feel in the moment when the disappointment, anger and sadness of life are overwhelming that God isn’t there.
The readings today offer us the hope of a loving God who answers our prayers. So, if that’s the case, if God is listening to us and giving as a loving father would be, then why aren’t all of our prayers answered?
I’ll be honest and admit that I don’t know. Bad things happen in life. Tragedy, pain, sadness and death are far too common in our world and it sometimes feels like God just isn’t there. It feels like He’s not listening to us. Yet we know that He is there.
When I look back at those moments in my life where I felt let down by God…where I felt the most adrift and lost…where a relationship was falling apart…where a loved one was hurt or dying…where I prayed and prayed seemingly to no avail, I can see now that God was in those moments. He just wasn’t where I wanted Him to be.
Jesus tells us that He loves all of us as His children. But God also tells the prophet Isaiah that “my thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways my ways.” (Isaiah 55:8) While this doesn’t always make me feel better in the moment when I’m hurting or upset, with time, I can often see God’s wisdom in not granting my request. Those moments of pain and crisis have all led me to experience God and others in a new and more profound way. It’s taken me years to see God’s love, wisdom, and beauty revealed in these moments. In some cases, I still don’t see the door that God has opened, but I’ve seen enough to let me know that even in those inexplicable moments when I feel abandoned by God that He’s still right there with me.
Lord, help us to remember that your ways are not our ways and, when we pray, that you are answering even if it’s not always the answer that we’re looking for.
Peace and blessings,
Pete Kuester