mine who is traveling has just arrived and I have nothing to offer him.’ Maybe your friend
will answer from inside: ‘Don’t bother me now; the door is locked and my children and I
are in bed, so I can’t get up and give you anything.’ But I tell you, even though he will not
get up and attend to you because you are a friend, yet he will get up because you are a
bother to him, and he will give you all you need.
And so I say to you, ‘Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and it
will be opened to you. For the one who asks receives, and the one who searches finds,
and to him who knocks the door will be opened. If your child asks for a fish, will you give
a snake instead? And if your child asks for an egg, will you give a scorpion? Even you
evil people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more then will the
Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”
Reflect
Empathy fatigue is a real thing. This term describes the feeling we have when, seeing
the many needs that we think we should pay attention to, we are overwhelmed and become
numb, unable to care about anything. We see so many problems and, feeling unable to
make a difference, we shut down and stop responding. In the Gospel today, Jesus reminds
us that God never has empathy fatigue. God is always ready to hear and answer our
prayers, giving us everything we need and filling us with the Holy Spirit.
But we are not God. So how can we address empathy fatigue? The first step is realizing
that, while we cannot solve the world’s problems, we can take them to God in prayer. But
praying for the needs of the world does not absolve us of the need for efforts that will
make a difference. After all, we are Christ’s hands in the world. We can choose one or two
ways that we will try to help. In those areas, we can offer our time and our treasure, a
listening ear and the voice of an advocate. We can’t do everything, but each of us can do
something.
© Copyright Bible Diary 2023