XXV Sunday in Ordinary Time (Cycle B) – September 19, 2021 Wisdom 2: 12, 17-20 / Psalm 54 / James 3: 16 – 4:3 / Mark 9: 30-37
While on mission in the city of Guayaquil in Ecuador, serving as the chaplain of a large school run by the Dominican sisters with around 1,800 students, la Unidad Educativa Santo Domingo de Guzmán, was a ministry that always brought memorable surprises.
One time while preaching at Mass with the seventh grade students, I told the story of when my older brother and I along with a neighborhood friend picked the low hanging fruit from Mr. Lawton's persimmon tree near the sidewalk.
We thought we pulled it off without anybody noticing us. As we ducked down below the hedge, Mr. Lawton appeared out of nowhere in his backyard and said, "It's ok fellas, but next time how about asking me beforehand. I’m happy to give you what you ask for and I might even have some other fruit to give you that I know your parents would appreciate." He knew our Moms and Dads well and was a kind neighbor, so we knew he was sincere.
My story caused no little stir as after the Mass, several of the students exclaimed, between giggles, that I was a thief! Every time I remember that episode and the reaction of the students, it always makes me smile. At the same time, there was a moral lesson that I have never forgotten. Our neighbor made it clear that there is a good way to seek and obtain things in life.
The epistles of the New Testament, especially of Saint James which we listened to in the second reading, provide much wisdom about the moral life. The Letter of James is especially known for being direct and practical in terms of moral teaching. Recall some of his words from the reading: "Beloved: Where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there is disorder and every foul practice," (James 3: 16) and "Where do the wars and where do the conflicts among you come from? Is it not from your passions that make war within your members?" (4: 1).
Here's the part which comes to mind as I recall when my brother, friend and I picked the fruit in a sneaky manner and with mischievous intentions: "You covet but do not possess..... You do not possess because you do not ask. You ask but do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions" (4: 2-3).
Our childhood neighbor was a true gentleman and he and his wife were very thoughtful persons. I recognized other traits in him, such as mercy, patience and a generous spirit. He would have more than happily given us fruit in that moment had we asked him. He frequently visited my parents and other neighbors with the produce of his abundant garden.
When we took the fruit, I readily sensed that something was not right. We were taking something; we were not being given that which we wanted because we were too busy taking. By taking, we did not give our neighbor the opportunity to express the truth about himself, his generosity.
Fr. Ron Rolheiser uses the example of Adam and Eve to show us the damaging effect of what it means to take instead of asking and receiving:
“God gives them life, each other, and the garden, and asks them only to receive it properly in gratitude – and then give thanks. The original sin was precisely Adam and Eve’s refusal to do this. Instead they took the apple, taking as though by right what could only be received gratefully as gift.”²
We are talking about a moral lesson, but is meant to lead to a deeper discovery: It is all about relationship - how God relates to us and provides for us and how we are able to relate to him and his gifts to us. It also has much to do with the people around us.
In his instruction to us on how to pray and why, Jesus provides yet another reminder that it is all about relationship. Even before that, it is about love and being loved. When that happens, we will know to ask because we already know to trust. Recall the words of Jesus from the seventh chapter of the Gospel according to Matthew:
“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.Which one of you would hand his son a stone when he asks for a loaf of bread, or a snake when he asks for a fish? If you then, who are wicked, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give good things to those who ask him” (Matthew 7: 7-11).
Asking prolongs a relationship, keeps it going, while taking can end or damage it rather quickly. Trust is able to flow from such a relationship because it flows from love and being loved. Trust occurs when we believe in God who is love and we are willing to receive his gift and put it into practice.
A need for something and the desire for it lead us to a threshold: to take or ask. Asking as Christ exhorts us to and James shows how to do properly allows for greater goods: We are given the opportunity to be grateful and the one who has is given the opportunity to give.
It might be tempting to think that to ask the Lord for mercy is mostly about getting something. However, he not only delights in giving, he rejoices in being asked. Blessed will we be when we ask for his mercy not only because we need it, but because we trust he will always give.
Ask the Lord because you trust in him; trust because you love him! Fr. Charles Johnson, O.P.
Notes:
¹ All Scripture citations are taken from the New American Bible (Revised Edition) at usccb.org ² Ronald Rolheiser, Our One Great Act of Fidelity (New York: Image, 2011), 104.