Daily Retreat 05/27/06

2006 May 27 Sat: Easter Weekday/ Augustine of Canterbury, bp, r, ms

Acts 18: 23-28/ Ps 46(47): 2-3. 8-9. 10/ Jn 16: 23b-28

From today’s readings: "After staying in Antioch some time, Paul left and traveled in orderly sequence through the Galatian country and Phrygia, bringing strength to all the disciples.... God is king of all the earth.... I came from the Father and have come into the world. Now I am leaving the world and going back to the Father."

Asking for It

Perhaps the most enticing claims of the entire Bible are those repeated promises Jesus made to His disciples that "whatever you ask the Father in My name, He will give you." Such categorical commitments certainly call for careful consideration and clarification.

For example, we see unbelieving cynics dismiss the Lord’s word as the worst example of false advertising - "I just asked God, in the name of Jesus, for a million dollars, and since I certainly haven’t received it, that proves that Jesus was just a charlatan or deluded megalomaniac." But, in reality, God’s refusal to grant such requests ultimately prove His love and truth as much as the times when He does fulfill those petitions which He knows are best for us.

For comparison, consider the example of King Herod, who was so enthralled by Salome’s seductive dancing that he promised to give her whatever she would ask for. Prompted by her mother’s hatred for John the Baptist, Salome demanded the prophet’s head on a platter (cf. Mark 6:14-29). Salome coldly capitalized on Herod’s rash promise, and some people try to treat God that way.

But Herod’s fulfillment of his oath was damning to both Salome and himself, and obviously, that’s not the way God operates, since He only does what is good. In fact, since it’s inconceivable that Jesus would have mimicked Herod’s foolhardy unconditional promise, we need to pay close attention to the conditions of the divine promises.

What, then, does it mean to ask for something "in the name of Jesus?" Clearly, to ask in the Lord’s name for a prophet’s decapitation or anything evil would be blasphemous! In fact, anything that diminishes goodness in the least is antithetical to Jesus - one can never, for instance, ask God to only grant another person half as many blessings as before! Rather, to ask God "in the name of Jesus" is equivalent to praying to the loving Father with a Christ-like mind, heart, and spirit, and so all our prayers can and should be made in the name of Jesus!