Ask, Seek and Knock

We were fortunate last night to have Thomas Warfield preach at Spiritus Christi for our Lenten speaker series. He broke open the “ask, seek and knock” reading like you have never heard. The text says, “ask and it shall be given to you.” Thomas asked, in this homily, “What is your “it”, you are asking, seeking and knocking for?” And then he broke it down!

Homily Transcript

Matthew 7:7-12 New International Version (NIV)
7 “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.9 “Which of you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone? 10 Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? 11 If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!12 So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.

Before I begin let me offer these words from Martin Luther for a few moments of contemplation…. “Pray as if everything depends on God, then work as if everything depends on you.” 

One of the overriding themes I find in these five verses from the Gospel of Matthew is a theme of relationships. The relationship we have with God, the relationship we have with one another as spelled out in verse 12 when it reminds us to treat others the way we want to be treated, and maybe most important the relationship with our self. If we think in metaphysical terms there’s only one self and so the relationships that we have with one another are really learning about the greater parts of our own self. And that is the context from which I’d like to begin my remarks tonight.

Earlier in the book of Matthew in the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus warned his disciples against formal hypocritical prayer, and gave them the model prayer to start them on their prayer journey. This passage we use as our focal point tonight is an important part of Jesus’ teaching about prayer; and I’ll add, teaching about ourselves. Generally, study of these verses concentrate on three focus words: ask, seek and knock. 

I’d like to turn our focus elsewhere and raise two questions concerning this text: One, what does the word, “it” refer to?  In other words, when Jesus said, “Ask, and it will be given you,” what might you expect to receive? “Seek and you will find,” what will you find?  “Knock and the door will be opened,” opened to what?  And my second question is, what is the “it” in your life?  In other words, if you were to ask God for something, what would it be?

My hunch is this verse is often misguided, misunderstood because we are consistently  in the mindset of receivership, of want, of perceived need. The structure of our lifestyles pretty much perpetuate a sense of lack, which in turn requires us to seek for something more. On the surface, when reading this scripture, it sounds like we have carte blanche: You can have whatever your heart desires; all you have to do is ask. But, I believe, that in everything Jesus said and did, no matter the context, there was always an underlying lesson teaching us how to return to spirit, a wholeness, a unity, and to experience the divine that lies within us. My former Unity Church minister from 30 years ago in New York City, Eric Butterworth, used to say: “God can do no more for you than he can do through you.” and there, I conclude, is definition of this scripture.

From my perspective there are two challenging issues with our proclivity toward wanting and needing. First, it piques our materialistic nature and plays on a false impression that, if we had unlimited resources, we could have anything we wanted … as if, in having “it” – there’s that word again – we’d be happy; that the answers are what make us happy. However, that path of thought somewhat negates the divine truth that happiness is always with us, in us, and as us. It isn’t about the search for happiness but the awareness of happiness that requires our effort. 

So, here’s the question: Given all we know about the reality of unanswered prayer, how can we take Jesus at his word when he says to us, “Ask, and it will be given you.”?I suggest that the answer lies in the pronoun, “it” …that it does not refer to whatever you might ask for; rather, it goes back to the previous passage in the 6th chapter of Matthew where Jesus said,“But seek first God’s Kingdom, and his righteousness;and all these things will be given to you as well.”(Matthew 6:33)

From this new intention, the passage would then read:“Ask, and it (the kingdom) will be given you.Seek, and you will find (the kingdom).Knock, and it (the door of the kingdom) will be opened for you.”So, what is the kingdom of God?  First, let me tell you what I think it’s not. The kingdom of God is not a panacea of human desire—it’s not a recreation of the Garden of Eden, where all you have to do is pick the fruit of your choice and eat to your heart’s content.

My idea of the Kingdom is being at one with God and the whole of God’s creation; for when you’re at one with God and all of creation, you’re able to experience life in all its abundance and potential, even in the face of sickness and death and prayers that seem to go unheard; and the asks that seemingly aren’t answered. There remains a wholeness, a connection that cannot be broken, has never been broken; a kingdom within that is our full supply and ultimate expression. 

What’s more, living as part of the kingdom, you have the strength of a whole community of support; you’re part of a great family of faith that walks with you as you pass through a dark valley, and celebrated you, celebrates the spirit that is you at every step of your journey.

I don’t believe Jesus ever intended for us to think that, if we believe in him, we can call the shots and order life to our own specifications. For me, that seems to be too surface a view, an external self-centric view. I believe he invites us to be the part of God’s Kingdom on earth that dwells in us and reflects as us, and that we are what we ask for, we are what we seek and we are the door we open.With that realization, what’s the “it” in your life?  When Jesus said, “Ask, and it will be given you.” what’s the it—what do you most hope God will give you or do for you?

As long as the it in your life (and in my life) is focused on the external and has to do with the things of this world, we’ll fall short. It’ll never be enough. We remain in a kind of darkness unable to see our own light. Only as you seek to live in harmony with God and the whole of God’s creation will you be truly happy, for this is the promise. This is the awareness of self in all selves. If you’re willing to seek God’s kingdom above all else, God will give you all you need for a full and abundant life. God will open you to the awareness of that life and guide you to live in that awareness. If you can allow your self to breathe into the depths, wonder, beauty, craziness and strife – everything that represents the fullness of your life, you will not only live in the Kingdom of God but live as the Kingdom of God. So, go ahead: Ask, and it, YOU, will be given unto you …