Daily Gospel Reflection for March 5, 2020

Today's Gospel: Matthew 7:7-12 Perhaps you have never gotten a definite “Yes!” to your prayer to win the Powerball lottery. Nevertheless, do you find that, in the important things, your heavenly Father always seems to provide? Growing up, I learned quickly that God was my ultimate provider. My father suffered the cross of unemployment, which ended up being a cross that touched the lives of the entire family. Many a night, my parents wondered how they would put food on the table. And yet, by the miracle of God working through friends and relatives, my sister and I never seemed to miss a meal. “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.” There is such power, such comfort, in these words. They point to a God who is ever-loving, ever-ready to respond to our needs. But Matthew 7 also requires something of us: the humility to ask. How many times in your life have you been in need but you were hesitant to ask for help because you feared looking foolish or inept? How many times have you suffered unnecessarily because you were slow to ask for God’s help and guidance? While it would be a mistake to look at God as an almighty vending machine, delivering products as soon as we pressed a button, He is eager to respond to our prayers. At times, it may take some courage for us to ask God for help, but in the end, it is so worth the exercise in humility. This Scripture reading ends with the Golden Rule: "Do to others whatever you would have them do to you." In following that golden tenet, we can imitate the generosity of the Father, who answers all our needs.