“Ask And You Will Receive…!”

“Ask And You Will Receive…!”(Jn.16:23b-28).
Ancestral veneration in any African family/village surely began with the death of the first father of that family or village. A distinctive qualification for ancestorship is that the person must have lived a virtuous and examplary life within the family/community.
The living are not considered to be ancestors – no matter how aged they may be. The reason is that what the living ask from the dead is what the dead provided for when s/he was alive. The living old do their best to provide for the offspring. But when they are no more, that is when the living elevate them to ancestors where they become intermediaries in the same way that the saints of the Church Triumphant assist Jesus Christ in his high priestly responsibilities in heaven.
Once upon a time some people came and asked Jesus, “How is it that John’s disciples and the disciples of the Pharisees are fasting, but yours are not?” In response Jesus told them,“How can the guests of the bridegroom fast while he is with them? They cannot, so long as they have him with them. But the time will come when the bridegroom will be taken away from them, and on that day they will fast”(Mk.2:18-20).
Jesus is the bridegroom. His immanence and omnipresence keeps us satisfied, but his transcendence by his ascension takes him away from us. If by his immanence we do not bother to ask from the Father, now that he is away, it is time for us to ask from the Father in his name.
So Jesus says “My Father will give you whatever you ask in my name. Until now you have not asked anything in my name. Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete…” Jesus also makes it plain that he had often spoken figuratively. We risk the danger of faulty biblical interpretation when we are not able to distinguish between figurative langauge and plain language. And Jesus says, “…I will no longer use this kind of language but will tell you plainly about my Father.”
He says the Father loves us because we have loved the Son so he will give us what we ask for.
So therefore, let us deepen our love for Christ in thought, word and deed. Let us implore the Holy Spirit to inspire us to ask the Fathet for spiritual things with spiritual prayers and it will be granted unto us.
Prayer of the day and week: Father, all I ask of you is to know Christ more and more and for the Holy Spirit to lead me on the right path. Amen!
Welcome back to a new working day and week! Have a blessed day and week! Peace be with you!
Rev Babila Fochang