In times of trouble …

Readings: Esther 4:1-7; Psalm137; Matthew 7:7-12

As they came to the end of their time on the top, the legendary Beatles sang ‘words of wisdom’:

When I find myself in times of trouble
Mother Mary comes to me
Speaking words of wisdom, let it be.

Sometimes things get too much for us to bear on our own, and we need someone to help us; someone who stands in front of us in the hour of darkness to speak words of wisdom. It might not solve all our problems for us – we will still need to endure the onslaught of what is difficult – but it will give us the space we need to regain our composure once again.

Queen Esther finds herself in such a predicament in today’s first reading. She has been overtaken by mortal peril, and she cries to the Lord to come to her help, for she is alone. She realises that there is no help for her outside the Lord, and that it is folly to place her trust in anything else but the love of God.

Jesus confirms Esther’s lesson to us in the Gospel. He reassures us that if we need, we should ask, and we will receive. If a hungry child asks for a piece of bread, who would give them a stone? And if we who are sinful would be moved by this, how much more will our loving Father be moved, if we come to him seeking help?

In Lent, when we consider the brokenness of our sinful lives, we realise the depth of our dependence on God. We call to him in our need and he answers.