Sadly, we don’t talk much about the virtues much anymore. Our culture has done its best to marginalize them, sentimentalize them, and limit them. The consequences of this lack of virtue harms the family and all our social relationships. While every generation has complained about the lack of virtue in the next generation, we are witness to a significant turning away from the very centrality of virtue in our world. The reason it is not a major crisis in our society is because the decline in virtue has been good for business. The decline in virtuous behaviour makes it easier than ever to make money.

Sad, isn’t it? Our nation has learned how to profit from a life lived without the guidance of the seven noble virtues. Now if the seven deadly sins were to disappear tomorrow, our nation would have to declare immediate bankruptcy.  Think about it. Without anger and lust, the entertainment industry would have no stories to tell. Without envy and coveting, the commercial banking industries would have no growth to exploit. Without gluttony, the fast food empires would wither away to nothing. 
Without sloth, the casinos would have no get rich quick dreams to sell us. Without vanity and pride, the retail world of fashion would have no hold over our self-image. 

Saint Paul tells us Christ has triumphed over the powers of this world. He has even triumphed over the empty promises and powers of the entertainment industry, the commercial banking industry, the fast food empires, the service industry, and even the fashion industry. If we are willing to remain focussed on God who was made real to us by Jesus Christ, we can free ourselves from their grasp, and find our freedom.

 
Jesus says the best way to stay focussed on God is through prayer. He gives us the Lord’s Prayer as a template. If you don’t know what to say to God, we can use Jesus’ words. In these simple seventy one words, Jesus summarizes all of his most important teachings into a memorable prayer we can say anywhere, any time. In one simple prayer we have a complete summary of the entire gospel message. It’s all there. A reverence for God. A personal relationship of trust. The need for forgiveness and reconciliation. The seeking of guidance in how to live well. 

 
We know these words off by heart. The challenge for us is to realize how powerful these words are.  This is no polite milk toast kind of bowing and scraping before God. This prayer is a list of  demands which rattle God’s cage.  It is interesting to note that all the verbs in the Lord’s Prayer are in the imperative form. Jesus believes God is strong enough to handle our most deeply felt needs. The expectation is that action will happen.

We can only begin such a dialogue with God if we are willing to ask. And Jesus commands us to Ask away. This is where the old acronym ASK comes in. Ask, Seek, Knock. ASK is how we should approach our prayer lives and not just the act of a single prayer. For Jesus is talking about asking again and asking again and asking again. He is talking about persistent prayer. When the neighbour starts pestering his friend in the middle of the night for help, it takes persistence, yet eventually the friend comes through. God is to be the friend we can pester in the night time. God is the friend we can count on to come through. To ask is to seek a relationship. To ask is to reach out to God. It is to trust God will provide, just as our friends care for us in our times of need.

The second step is to Seek. To seek is to have a goal. God seeks to take the world as it is, and to make it into all it can yet be. God seeks our mutual inclusive well being. In our prayers we reveal what kind of goals we seek. This is why selfish and destructive prayers are not usually given a positive response. God wants everyone to prosper, not just the few, and certainly will not favour the one if it comes at everyone else’s expense.

And finally, we are to Knock. To knock is to seek to enter into a different place, To knock  is to challenge those who close the door to opportunity. To knock is to open the soul to God’s holy spirit, inviting God’s presence in your heart. It is to let God loose in the world. For God is here, ready, waiting. Waiting for you to ask. So Ask away. Ask persistently. Ask always. God will listen to your cry as you reveal your heart’s desire, as you share your painful burdens. Help will be given.

 As you experience all the good things this summer has to offer, remember to seek the presence of God. Get out into this wonderful world and so you may find the many ways God is active in our lives.
And don’t forget to knock. Knock on heaven’s door without fear or shame. And the door to Heaven will be opened for you.

 For God’s own presence is the answer to every prayer. It is the answer which surpasses any ‘thing’ we might ever ask for. 
Ask, Jesus says. Seek, Jesus says. Knock, Jesus says, and God will be given unto you.
Amen.