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People nowadays would prefer to accomplish many things within a short period of time. They treat time as something very precious and valuable. Some of them would even prefer to shorten their meal times by eating instant and ready-to-eat food so that they can save time. Students also have a quick, easy and instant access to information through the Internet. This would require them a smaller amount of time to spend in research. These are just some realities that make our lives more convenient. These realities spare us from waiting for a long time to accomplish things through the long and traditional processes.
But there are certain tasks in life that require us to take the long process and wait. And I think this is what Jesus was referring to when He said, “Ask and it will be given to you, search and you will find, knock and the door will be opened to you.” When Jesus said these words, He does not mean that we can easily get what we pray for, just like eating instant noodles. When we come to meet Jesus in prayer and ask for something, He does not readily give us the answer to our prayer. Instead, He gives us certain situations in life that form part of the process in achieving what we pray for.
Why does God want us to undergo the long process? Perhaps it is because He wants to teach us something that we might miss if He would readily give us the answer to our prayers. It is the waiting and going through the process that matter most. We are not mere passive recipients. And this is what Jesus taught us. In the desire of God to save us from our sins, He chose to undergo the long process of becoming man like us. He chose to suffer and to experience the excruciating pains as He was nailed to the cross. God had the option to save us by just a single stroke of His hand. But He did not choose that. He chose to wait and to undergo the long and hard process so that people may truly learn and believe in Him. Fr. Joel O. Jason
Reflection Questions:
How willing am I to wait and to choose the long process?
Lord, help me to learn Your ways. May I be patient enough to wait and to choose the long process so that I may learn more the lessons You want to teach me. Amen.
St. John Joseph of the Cross, Confessor, pray for us.
