Why do I not answer?

Christ does not wait for your perfect answer. He invites you to come and see.

Christ has asked. Not in anger. Not to accuse. He has turned, quietly, on a road beside the Jordan, and addressed two uncertain men who were following at a distance. His question was simple. "What seek you?" (John 1:38, Douay-Rheims)

And something in them hesitated. They did not refuse Him. They did not walk away. But they did not answer the question either. They answered a different one: "Rabbi, where dwellest thou?" They asked about a place rather than naming a desire. They stepped, almost without knowing it, to one side.

If you have ever done the same thing in prayer, you are in good company. The hesitation that keeps us from answering God directly is not a modern problem, and it is not a small one. It runs through Scripture from the very beginning. Understanding it is the first step toward moving past it.

Why we do not answer. There is a moment, earlier in Scripture than the one we began with, that explains everything. A man is in a garden. He has heard a voice he knows. And he does not come forward. "I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked, and I hid myself." (Genesis 3:10, Douay-Rheims)

If you have ever wondered about this passage, or felt that something more is happening here than is first seen, this paper is written for you. It is short. Clear. And grounded in Scripture as received in the Catholic tradition.

Format: Digital PDF, 7 pages, approx 1600 words

Language: English

Author: M.F. Robb

Published by thephilippapers.com

A Cathedral of The Fourth production.