I Asked for a Snake and Called It a Fish

One of the strange things I experienced in high school is taking a class that they called “math,” but it didn’t seem like math at all. It was called Geometry. Instead of grinding out tedious equations, we were learning a bunch of new and different concepts. One of my favorite concepts that I learned back there in high school dealt with this new idea called infinity. Unfortunately for me, I learned it the wrong way, so I ended up more confused than informed. I really did think that infinity was just an impossibly hard-to-imagine large number. Maybe that was because there was a symbol for infinity, and that symbol could be plugged into certain algebraic equations, and the equation would yield a numeric answer. The problem is that there is a very big difference between an impossibly hard-to-imagine large number and infinity.

The difference deals with this concept of boundedness. Everything in Creation is bounded. The size of the universe is bounded — it isn’t infinitely large. The age of the universe is bounded — it isn’t infinitely old. If it was infinitely old, for example, then we could not possibly be experiencing the current moment, because we would still be waiting an infinite amount of time for the current moment to arrive. Very simple logic.

So the universe is bounded, but so too is just about everything else in our lives. We know that we are experiencing our boundedness when we must prioritize. Cynthia and I have been living in the house that we were building, and that is where we actively made decisions because we couldn’t do everything at the same time. There was only so much time in a day, and there’s only so much energy that we have. Every day, we would check our priorities to see what made sense. One thing that I learned in this house-building process is that the two most important parts of any house are the sink and the toilet. Having a sink and a toilet makes the house vastly more comfortable. After that, it’s the heater and air conditioner. Then it’s a shower. The list goes on and on.

Infinity is not some really large number — because any number is still something that is bounded. Rather, infinity is better understood as something that is altogether unbounded. And the only way that I know to properly apply infinity is when we discuss the nature of God. God created the universe. We know the universe was created because it hasn’t been around forever. There was a starting point. That requires some sort of creation — which in turn requires a Creator. To create a universe would mean that the Creator would be outside all of the aspects of Creation. The universe is made of matter — thus the Creator must be immaterial. The universe exists in time — thus the Creator must be eternal, outside of time. The universe has immense energy — thus the Creator must be all-powerful to create such a thing.

I bring all this up because it helps us to better understand what Jesus is saying in Luke chapter 11, in the story of ask, seek, and knock. This part of the Gospel where Jesus says, “And I tell you, ask and you shall receive,” is terribly misunderstood, and many people have been led astray by these simple words. The misunderstanding comes from adding words to what Jesus says. What he says is, “Ask and you shall receive.” What he does not say is, “Ask for something, and whatever you have asked for, you shall receive just as you have specified.” It does not say that at all. He goes on to explain further when he says, “What father among you would hand their son a snake when they ask for a fish? Or a scorpion when they ask for an egg? If you who are wicked know how to give good gifts, then how much more will your Father in Heaven give the Holy Spirit?”

I’m very much aware that many of my past prayers were prayers where I thought I was asking for something that was good, like a fish or an egg. But what I was really asking for would have destroyed my life. For example, I do remember a long time ago asking to win a lottery. Now, today, I’m very happy that I didn’t win the lottery. Too many lottery winners end up either destitute or isolated from all friends and family. To me, that sounds more like a snake or a scorpion and not a fish or an egg. So instead of winning the lottery, I had to work — and I met wonderful people and developed lifelong friendships in the process. I would not trade those relationships for a lottery. Those friendships are the metaphorical fish or egg in this Gospel.

So that is one mistake that people can make when they think about prayer and their relationship with God. It is a mistake to think that the Bible says that you can ask for something, and whatever you ask for will be given you. It does not say that.

Another mistake that is often made by people with good intentions is to think that God must prioritize the prayers that he answers. If someone is aware that there are dire needs in other parts of the world, or even in the neighborhood, then some people think it is not right to ask God for something that might seem trivial in comparison to the great needs that others have. It is obviously virtuous to pray for those in need. To be clear, we should certainly pray for those in need. No question there. But that does not mean that we have to restrict our requests because we don’t want to overburden God. God is infinite. He is unbounded. It is not possible to overburden God with your prayers.

Once I realized that, I was very relieved that I didn’t have to do this job of prioritizing for God. I could just talk to God in my prayer and ask for whatever I thought made sense at the time. And I know that God’s response will be good. This way of life — of praying to God for whatever comes to your mind, and then paying attention to the answer — is one way to cultivate your relationship with God.

We have a God that so desires a relationship with us. He even tells us to call him Father, Brother, Advocate. It is very bold to claim that we can call our Creator “Father.” That is why the Church says, before the Our Father, “We dare to say.”

God knows what is best for us, and what is best is an active and healthy relationship with God. The way we work on that relationship is to pray unreservedly, and then to trust that God has heard our prayers, to observe how he answers, and to know that what we do receive from God is good.

If you asked for the body to be made well, and the exact thing did not arrive, start by telling the truth about the two lists. What you asked for. What you actually received. I asked for a lottery. I received work, and then friends. I called the first thing a fish. It was closer to a snake. You do not have to pretend the unanswered ask was easy. You also do not have to add words Jesus did not say: whatever you specified, exactly as specified.

If you stopped asking for small things because other people have worse problems, or because you did not want to overburden God, that is the second mistake. God is not a triage desk you have to manage. He is not bounded the way a house under construction is bounded. You still have to choose a sink before a shower. He does not. Ask for the thing in front of you. Ask for the people who have it worse. You do not have to pick only one.

Then watch what arrives, including what you did not specify. A friendship. A day you can stand. Help you would not have chosen. That may be the fish. It may not be the healing you named. Both can be true in the same week. Keep talking to him. Keep noticing the answer. The relationship is the thing he is actually giving. The rest of it — the body, the house, the job — stays inside Creation, which is still bounded.

This is a pastoral reflection, not clinical care and not a substitute for it. If you or someone you love is in immediate danger, call 988 or local emergency services.

Drawn from a homily first preached in 2019.