"…the heavenly Father [will] give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!"

In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Since our arrival in Covington, my family and I have been rediscovering many of the modern conveniences of suburban living. Along with pleasant surprises such as the farmers’ market, the corner grocery store, and neighborhood restaurants, our eyes have also been reopen to the strange world of cable television. The variety of viewing options available on twelve channels is mind-boggling compared with the three and a half we were able to tune into in Nashotah, Wisconsin.

One aspect of this amazing variety of which I have taken note is a profusion of religious programming. It seems that at any time of the day or night, you can be preached at. I’ve also found that diversity among television preachers has exploded also. No longer just the familiar white male faces such as Billy Graham and Oral Roberts; there are Catholic nuns and monks in their habits, white women with sparkly earrings standing at transparent pulpits, black couples in living-room chairs, country folk gathered around the breakfast table, inner-city churches packed and swaying to the rhythm of a praise band. All of this diversity is in a way refreshing – there is religious television programming for apparently every sociological niche in Christendom. Yet despite this ostensible diversity, I have observed a theme that is common to nearly all of them. It goes something like this: "Our Faith in Jesus Christ will result in God’s doing what we want him to do. God is like the big Santa Claus in the sky, and if we believe in him hard enough, all our relationships will work out the way we want them to, we will be given economic security - even affluence, and we will not know adversity or suffering."

I have also noticed that non-religious cable programming offers the same results by different means: whiter teeth, firmer abs, a fuller head of hair, successful and painless removal of unwanted hair elsewhere…all of these changes and many more like them are said to be the key to material prosperity and hence personal wellbeing.

Christianity is thus presented as a gimmick among many gimmicks for achieving our worldly aspirations of status and wealth, and the Gospel that I just read is often cited as the biblical foundation for approaching God in that way. "Ask, and it will be given you…" Indeed, at first glance, this passage does seem to imply that our relationship with God is about getting what we want. After all, Jesus doesn’t tell us what we should be asking for…or does he?

"Your kingdom come. Give us each day our daily bread. And forgive us our sins…do not bring us to the time of trial."

Friends, I suspect that these are the kinds of things that flow freely from our Father’s hand whenever we turn to him in prayer. I draw your attention to the fact that these petitions have nothing whatever to do with our worldly aspirations; they are chiefly concerned with God’s aspirations for us, our becoming the men and women whom God created us to become, our subordinating our will to his, our drawing ever nearer to him and each other. Therefore, Christian prayer is not so much about God’s doing what we want; it is chiefly about our desire for the grace to know and do what God wants.

Friends, I have to tell you, living into and living out the Christian Faith might not do one single thing for your socioeconomic status. It very well might not bump you up to the next level of material security, as many television preachers imply. But I can guarantee you that in living into and living out the Christian Faith, you transcend all earthly economic categories and enter the God’s Kingdom, God’s order, which renders irrelevant all of that which cable television promises. That is what awaits us, awaits our asking. So, "Ask, and it will be given you; search and you will find; knock and the door will be opened for you. For everyone who asks receives, and everyone who searches finds, and for everyone who knocks, the door will be opened."

Amen.