THE WORD
Ac 18,23-28 / Jn 16,23-28
Jesus said to his disciples, “On that day you will not question me about anything. Amen, amen, I say to you, whatever you ask the Father in my name he will give you. Until now you have not asked anything in my name; ask and you will receive, so that your joy may be complete.
“I have told you this in figures of speech. The hour is coming when I will nolonger speak to you in figures but I will tell you clearly about the Father.
On that day you will ask in my name, and I do not tell you that I will ask the Father for you. For the Father himself loves you, because you have loved me and have come to believe that I came from God. I came from the Father and have comeinto the world. Now I am leaving the world and going back to the Father.”
IN OTHER WORDS
A school chaplain once told me that many students asked him to bless their pens during exams. They told him, they would more likely pass their tests with divine assistance. He told some of them, “But if you don’t study hard, all the holy water in the church will not help you at all.” However some ignored his logical remark: “Of course, I’m studying for the examinations. But I might get sick or have a memory black-out or experience bad luck.” The chaplain gave up and told me, “Some people use blessed objects as lucky charms or anting-anting, to protect them from misfortune. When they face uncertainty, they resort to prayers and religious rituals to feel secure and banish fear.”
Filipinos are known to be a prayerful people. Inside their houses, they have an altar with a cross, an image of the Sto. Niño, the Virgin Mary or a saint. Going abroad, many bring with them their religious statues, prayer books and rosaries. Though an impressive display of religiosity, the question remains: how do they pray? Do they use prayer like a magic formula? Do they talk to God like Santa Claus and ask him to fulfill their materialistic wishes? Religious icons and paraphernalias assist prayer but dangerous when misused and taken at face value.
Jesus said, “Whatever you ask the Father in my name he will give you.” (Jn 16:23) Do we pray with confidence to our heavenly Father? Jesus assures us that God will hear our prayers. Yet when we ask for God’s blessings, let us not assume that He will always bless us in the way we think He should bless us. Not on our own terms. God will give us what we need, but in a better way and better time than how we imagine it.
- Fr. Simon Boiser, SVD | Hamburg, Germany
The Word in other words 2016
An annual project of Logos Publications, The WORD in Other Words Bible Diary contains daily scripture readings and reflections written by priest, brothers, and sisters of the three congregations founded by St. Arnold Janssen (the SVD, SSpS, and SSpSAP). It hopes to serve as a daily companion to readers who continually seek the correlation of the Word of God and human experience.
