My dear brothers and sisters in Christ, in today’s readings we hear from the prophet Malachi, the last of the prophets to write during the Old Testament era. His writings date from around 450 to 430 years before the birth of Christ. Malachi spoke during a period after the people of God had returned from the Babylonian exile, at the beginning of the reconstruction of the Temple—a project set in motion by the Persian King Cyrus, who had liberated them from Babylonian domination.
However, the Israelites, once filled with high hopes, soon became spiritually weary and disillusioned as they lived under Persian rule. They returned to their land expecting to restore the Temple and renew the Holy Land, but what they encountered instead was economic hardship, political insignificance, and a growing sense that God’s promises were not being fulfilled.
This disappointment led to widespread spiritual cynicism. Many began to doubt whether it was worth remaining faithful to God. It is precisely at this point that today’s first reading begins:
“You have defied me in word, says the Lord.
Yet you ask, ‘What have we spoken against you?’
You have said, ‘It is vain to serve God, and what do we profit by keeping his command and going about in penitential dress, in awe of the Lord of hosts?’”
The Lord is pointing out here what often happens to each one of us when we become restless and impatient in prayer. We pray, but we do not receive the answer we seek—especially not when we want it. And yet, the Lord calls us to persevere in prayer, trusting in His timing and wisdom.
This is where today’s Gospel connects so beautifully. Jesus tells the parable:
“Suppose one of you has a friend to whom he goes at midnight and says, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves of bread.’
But the friend answers, ‘Do not bother me. The door has already been locked and my children and I are already in bed. I cannot get up to give you anything.’”
And Jesus continues:
“I tell you, even though he will not get up and give him the bread because of their friendship, he will get up and give him whatever he needs because of his persistence.”
No one likes someone knocking on the door at midnight—but persistence works. And Jesus drives the lesson home:
“Ask, and you will receive.
Seek, and you will find.
Knock, and the door will be opened to you.”
Our Lord is inviting us to humility, patience, and trust. He reminds us to focus not on political importance or on getting exactly what we want, when we want it. That is not what matters most.
What matters most is our relationship with God—a relationship that endures, come what may, even when answers seem delayed or hidden. God’s reasons for delay are always the best reasons. What He desires to give us far exceeds anything we could ever imagine or ask for.
Therefore, let us not love God merely for what He gives, but for who He is:
He is Goodness itself.
He is Graciousness.
He is Mercy.
He is our Father.
Amen.
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