What Are You Seeking?
Two friends attend a conference. Later, they realize that the speaker said some really important things and they both decide to summarize the most important points. Now, they are two different people, with different experiences, different passions and different concerns. A few years later, we find their notes. Are we surprised that there might be a few distinctions in what the two remembered and wrote down - what stuck in each of their minds? Are we surprised that one point might have resonated more with one, whereas that point might have been clearly understood by the other who did not feel the need to emphasize it because he knew what his notes meant? Let's compare Matthew 7:7-12 with Luke 11:9-13. The first part (ask and you will receive, seek and you will find, knock and the door will be opened to you) is identical. Then the examples given differ slightly. (Which one of you would hand his son a stone when he asked for a loaf of bread vs. hand him a scorpion when he asks for an egg?) Maybe Jesus gave several examples and they each wrote down two. Now comes the biggest distinction, for me. In today's reading it says that the Father will give "good things" to those who ask him. Some apparently translate that to mean a 3-car garage.... Yet Luke records this as saying that the Father in heaven will give "the Holy Spirit" to those who ask him. Pretty big difference if you were relying on this verse from Matthew to win the lottery... Perhaps the "good things" Matthew was referring to are the fruits of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. I'm sure Matthew would have considered those to be "good things." What have you been seeking? Good "things" or the Holy Spirit?
Reflection by Linda Weaver
Minister of Care, Lector, and Eucharistic minister
Minister of Care, Lector, and Eucharistic minister
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