Monday - 28th Week in Ordinary Time

Gospel – Luke 11:29-32

Give Me A Sign

Sign, Mount of Beatitudes

 

Over 6 years ago, right around this same time of October, we were driving in rural upstate New York to visit my brother and his family and we were hopelessly lost.  It was the dead of night, pitch black on a windy twisty country road, no streetlights, no road signs, no signs of civilization.  GPS wasn’t working; even my ‘male’ sense of direction wasn’t functioning.  It was just a bit terrifying.  Every time we got to an intersection, we wrestled with which way to turn.  All we wanted was a sign, anything, that could lead us where we wanted to go.  Eventually we did reach our destination but not without a lot of backtracking and wrong turns; it was not a journey we would want to repeat.

We hear about signs in today’s Gospel but the context is quite different.  The people are asking Jesus for a sign.  Prove yourself to us; give us a sign so that we know you are a prophet sent from God.  They believe they already have all the answers, that they know the truth.  They believe they are standing on a religious high ground looking down and judging Jesus’ worth as a prophet.  But Jesus sees them as they really are – a faithless generation, they are a bit like Herod in Jesus Christ Superstar!  Prove to me that you’re divine; change my water into wine!

We all hit crossroads in life; we are all looking for answers, for the right path to take.  Especially in moments of life-changing decisions, we pray for a sign from God to help us along the way.  We pray for guidance and wisdom! 

But Jesus reminds us that our faith isn’t based on miracles or wonders!  Our faith is based on the presence of Jesus in our lives.  That is what the Jews were lacking.  The real sign is Jesus standing right in front of their eyes but they refused to see!  And that is the challenge for us – to see the presence of Jesus in all we do, to see His gentle touch and calming voice in all our choices, guiding us along the way.

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