THE WORD
Mic 6,1-4.6-8 / Mt 12,38-42
Some of the scribes and Pharisees said to him, “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.”
IN OTHER WORDS
I once sat next to a simply-dressed man, realizing only afterwards that I was sitting next to an auxiliary bishop of Tokyo. I was in the presence of greatness without realizing it. We come face to face with greatness and sometimes immediately sense it, either through our interaction with the person him/herself or by what others say. Some hard-hearted people refuse to acknowledge it.
They cannot accept that someone could be greater or above them in social standing. We have a similar situation in today’s gospel. The scribes and Pharisees were in the presence of greatness, the Messiah. And yet all they could do was ask for a sign. Jesus was already preaching about love and forgiveness and healing the sick on the Sabbath. The scribes and Pharisees were supposed to know where or when the Savior would come. Perhaps they wanted a sign just to postpone admitting to themselves and to others that Jesus was truly the Messiah. Pride reared its ugly head.
We have been given the gift of faith and we believe that Jesus is our Savior. Signs and wonders that God is with us are abundant around us. But we forget this great truth. The graces we receive become a normal occurrence for us and we take them for granted. The sun that gives life to the world, the air that we breathe, the land and the sea that give us an abundance of food. These and more can remind us of God’s presence if only we allow ourselves to see.
Everyday that God gives us is a sign of His love. We need not ask for another sign. God’s presence is all around us. We need to open our eyes and see.
- Fr. Chito Lorenzo, SVD | Japan
An annual project of Logos Publications, The WORD in Other Words Bible Diary contains daily scripture readings and reflections written by priest, brothers, and sisters of the three congregations founded by St. Arnold Janssen (the SVD, SSpS, and SSpSAP). It hopes to serve as a daily companion to readers who continually seek the correlation of the Word of God and human experience. The Word in other words 2016
