"Ask and it will be
given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to
you.” We hear this well-known verse as a
part of the Gospel reading from St Matthew this afternoon. I remember that when I was talking to the
seniors at St Richard during the Lenten retreat I was giving them about the
different names we have for God, one of them remarked that she did not like the
image of a door, because she was envisioning a closed door that put up a
barrier in reaching God. However,
another person at the retreat said that she envisioned an open door that gives
us access to God. Our image from the
Gospel today tells us to knock at the door, for it will be opened for anyone
who knocks.
Queen Esther was a Jewish
girl who became a maiden at the court of the Persian king. She eventually became Queen. Through her wisdom and courage, she thwarts a
plot against the people of Israel. In
our first reading, we hear Esther prays to the Lord that she may speak his
word, asking him: “Put in my mouth persuasive words in the presence of the
lion.” She wants to speak God’s word to
the king of Persia, to be God’s holy message.
Esther has great fear, since she knows that her life and the lives of
many Jews depend upon what will happen next.
Yet, in the face of this adversity, Esther places her faith and trust in
the Lord.
Sometimes we are afraid to
open the door, we are afraid what will happen next. Sometimes, it is difficult taking that first
step, taking a risk. The Lord tells us
to knock at the door. We have to be
willing to take that chance no matter how scary it may seem.
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