17th Sunday OT, Year C
Alexander Albert
St. Peter Catholic Church, New Iberia
“I want to be the very best!” If you recognize that line, you might know something about the game called Pokémon Go. It’s only been around for 3 weeks, but it has made 100s of millions of dollars and is the most popular Smartphone game in the world. It’s pretty clever, really. It uses your phone’s data and GPS to make it seem like these digital monsters, called Pokémon, are actually in different places in the real world. The goal is the same as the famous tagline “gotta catch them all.”
So, what does this have to do with the Gospel? Well, we can see human desire at work and this is what Jesus is teaching us about: seek, ask, knock – so bear with me. At any given moment there are as many as 20 million people walking around with their phones in front of their faces trying to find these digital creatures. There a lot of people who really, really want to “catch them all” so that they can “be the very best.” This game has them excited. It has people chasing after something that, just a month ago, they never knew they wanted.
But, that raises a serious question – is this what people really want? There are some who spend several hours a day playing this game. They research, plan, coordinate with others, and even do a good bit of physical exercise to achieve their goal. They want it, so they ask for it, they seek it out, and some of them even literally knock on doors to get to a Pokémon in someone’s yard. And such players have received help, they have found Pokémon, and they’ve been able to open both virtual and real doors.
But how long before this game goes the way of Pac-Man, VHS tapes, and Disco? Every so often, especially in America, some new thing comes along and everyone suddenly realizes that this is the thing they never knew they wanted, but then a few years later, no one even remembers it. So how do we decide if it’s a fad or something more? The answer is actually in Jesus’ teaching: its “persistence.”
Human beings change over time – its just part of our nature. As a child, I thought I really wanted to be a fighter pilot. That lasted a few years, but eventually it went away. As a kid, I also knew that I wanted to spend my life helping people and I still do. One of these desires faded, the other lasted. And that is why Jesus says what he does.
After teaching his disciples the Our Father, Jesus tells the parable of the friend who really needs to borrow some bread. He gets what he wants because he is persistent. At first glance, it almost seems like Jesus is saying that we can get anything we want from God if we just pester him enough – as if we could annoy God into agreeing to whatever we want. But our Lord and Savior is far cleverer than that. He’s setting them up to be able to deal with unanswered prayers. He says “ask, and you shall receive,” but we can all think of something we prayed for and didn’t get. So, what gives? If I prayed really hard to get a Ferrari, or maybe to catch a super rare Pokémon, and it doesn’t happen, is God a liar?
No, the thing is that Jesus is talking at a deeper level here. The key to interpreting this is to notice the progression of “ask, seek, and knock.” Each one is a step further than the prior – it takes more effort to seek than to ask and more effort to knock than to seek. So, someone who seeks and knocks wants something… they desire it more than the person who merely says “can I have it.” Pair this with the parable about persistence and what do you get? Jesus is trying to get at your deepest desires. He is trying to get at what you really want, even when you don’t know that you want it.
What is the best way to find out if you really want something? You ask, seek, and knock. Either you’ll get it and realize you don’t want it, even if it takes a few years to realize it, or you’ll never get it and realize you don’t need it after all. And this brings us to the fish and the snake, the egg and the scorpion.
A fish and a snake both feel kind of slimy and scaly. If you weren’t looking and only touched them, you might confuse the two. An egg and a scorpion likewise have a similar kind of texture. That is why Jesus makes that comparison, but he does it in reverse. He tells us that God would never give us a false version of what we want. He would never fool us by giving us something that only seems like a fish or an egg. But what if we ask God for a snake? What if we had touched a snake, been confused about what it was, pointed to it and said “I want that!” Would you give a poisonous snake or a scorpion to a blind child?
We are the blind children! Often we ask, seek, and knock for something that is truly bad for us. But, because we are so stubborn, it’s pointless to say “don’t ask.” Sometimes we do realize that we don’t really want something and so we don’t ask. Other times, it’s not until we ask and get no answer that we realize we don’t really need it. Other times, we can spend years or even decades chasing something only to realize that it too leaves us feeling empty.
And so, with Pokémon Go, or with just about anything else, we will not be truly satisfied with that alone. Pokémon Go is not evil, as long as you have the restraint to not get into car wrecks, walk off cliffs, or disregard courtesy and responsibility while playing it. So it is with many things: they can be good, but the things of this world will fade away and none of them satisfy our deepest desire. This is why Jesus gives us the real answer at the very end of the passage. God will give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him – so ask for it!
But let’s not end on an abstract note like that. The fact is that what we think we want is usually a shadow or a dim reflection of what we truly want. One of the best features of Pokémon Go is that it actually involves exercise and interacting directly with other human beings. While all the game’s accomplishments and bragging rights will fade, looking for a Pokémon just might lead you to make a new friend, to be healthier, and maybe learn a little history and geography. In an even greater way, looking for a girlfriend or boyfriend can lead to a family and to the sacrament of matrimony, even though both spouses will eventually die. All of our sacraments use temporary things to bring us grace, to put us in contact with God, and to give us the Holy Spirit.
So, ask, seek, and knock. The Lord wants to be a part of your entire life. Do not be afraid to ask him for what you want. Just realize that what he wants for you, and what he wants to give just might be something you never even knew you wanted.