The Gospel according to Matthew (12:38-42)
Some of the scribes and Pharisees said to Jesus, “Teacher, we wish to see a sign from you.” He said to them in reply, “An evil and unfaithful generation seeks a sign, but no sign will be given it except the sign of Jonah the prophet. Just as Jonah was in the belly of the whale three days and three nights, so will the Son of Man be in the heart of the earth three days and three nights. At the judgment, the men of Nineveh will arise with this generation and condemn it, because they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and there is something greater than Jonah here. At the judgment the queen of the south will arise with this generation and condemn it, because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and there is something greater than Solomon here.”
Reflection: The question of how we see, and what lenses that we choose to use that allow us to understand our lives and the world around us. How do we understand where God, Jesus, and The Holy Spirit is operating in our lives? What gives us the capacity to even understand any of that? Very often we are looking for a sign but because we are so busy and won’t slow down, we often miss them. I have even witnessed, too many times, people that miss signs like a STOP sign or red light. We want God to speak loudly, clearly to us and place these signs right in our hands. But, as we know, that doesn’t always happen. More often what we experience is what appears to be silence from God. We may wonder, “Lord, where are You? Why don’t You speak to me?” But Jesus will speak to us in the same way. He will remind us that we must believe in all that He has spoken, and even if we feel like we are in the belly of a whale, hope is not lost. God is present in all things, and He is active and present to us even when He seems to be silent or far away. Or sometimes you are so busy looking for signs but maybe you are a sign for someone else! We live in a society that has signs of all sorts; all shapes; all sizes; all around us. We can’t do or go anywhere without signage. Take for example something simple like going to a restroom in a public space. If it didn’t have any signage, then how would you know which one is for men or women? On the other hand, when I go fishing in the Sierras, there is a minimal number of physical signs on the trails or the river but there are many “spiritual signs” around me. There were many times I would just stop and sit and observe the signs that God was presenting to me. And when I did stop, there were an endless number of signs. This Gospel from Matthew is describing how we, as in all of us, are always looking for some sign from God, some reassurance, some acknowledgement, or approval. But have you ever stopped for a moment and thought, what if God has been waiting for a sign from you? Maybe He needs some acknowledgement, response, or reassurance from you. If you consider the Commandments and the Beatitudes, what signs of hope and assurance have you given God? Sure! We give the Sign of the Cross; Sign of Peace; the Peace sign, the sign of our open hands in prayer, we give a helping hand and at the very least we shake hands. But is that enough? Is that the sign that God is looking for?
Action of the Day: Go out to a park, a pond, your garden, you get the point and just listen and observe. Look for all the signs that God gives you but offer up a sign to God. He is speaking to you all the time. You just need to discern His voice.
Audio Reflection:
Thanks Ray for reminding me that Gods signs are all over. We just stop and take time out and listen to Gods call