Daily Mass Gospel Reflection- Divine Parenting

Word on Fire Ministry ^ | 05.20.23 | Bishop Robert Barron

[MurphsLaw]

SIXTH WEEK OF EASTER
John 16:23b–28

Friends, in today’s Gospel,
Jesus gives us this assurance about answered prayer:
“Amen, amen, I say to you,
whatever you ask the Father in my name he will give you.

If God cannot change,
what is the point of asking him for anything?
And if God is omniscient,
what is the point of telling him what you need?
The same Jesus who told us to ask and ask again
also informed us that God
“knows what you need before you ask him.”

One way to shed light on this problem is to refer to the biblical master-
metaphor for God—namely, the parent.
Parents hear petitions from their children constantly,
persistent requests for things,
some good and some quite bad—
and decent parents know what their child needs long before she asks for it.

God indeed knows everything about everything
and so obviously is aware of what we need before we ask;
yet still, like a good parent,
he delights in hearing our requests—
and like a good parent,
he does not always respond the way we would like him to.

[MurphsLaw]

+++Jesus said to his disciples:
"Amen, amen, I say to you,
whatever you ask the Father in
my name he will give you.
Until now you have not asked
anything in my name;
ask and you will receive,
so that your joy may be complete.

"I have told you this in figures of speech.
The hour is coming when I will
no longer speak to you in figures
but I will tell you clearly
about the Father.
On that day you will ask in my name,
and I do not tell you that I
will ask the Father for you.
For the Father himself loves
you, because you have loved me
and have come to believe that
I came from God.
I came from the Father
and have come into the world.
Now I am leaving the world
and going back to the Father."+++