(Click Here for Readings)
Gospel of 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..."
It's been quite a miserable last 24 hours. I woke up in the middle of the night with massive burning erupting from my stomach. Then the vomiting started. I didn't eat anything unusual except a little too much garlic. (Garlic soup plus three pieces of Texas toast smothered in crushed garlic and butter...) I love the stuff and totally forgot how really potent it can be. I laid in bed praying to Our Lord: "Please make this burning and nausea go away. This is shear torture!" I was on the brink of callling 911 - That's how bad the pain was. I panicked thinking I had a ruptured appendix or something else major going on. Finally around 1:30 am the pain ceased, and I was finally able to get a few hours of zzzzs.
As I'm typing this post, my stomach still doesn't feel right. I managed to eat a bit of food. I'll just have to wait and see if it digests okay without anymore unpleasant side effects.
Signs of illness Our bodies naturally warn us when bacteria, virus, or a foreign substance attacks. Signs include fever, diarrhea, vomiting, and fatigue. If it wasn't for acute "signs" of distress, we may not think to go to the doctor to get checked out.
Sometimes the signs of distress are clearly visible, but we decide to ignore them. Maybe a family member is displaying signs of suicide. We think it's just a phase he is going through. He's just talking about this to get attention. He won't ever do anything to hurt himself.
Signs of mental and physical illness follow us everywhere. We see it within ourselves as well as others. But we may think to ourselves: Should we take the signs we see seriously? With so many hoaxes and people playing games to make us believe something is happening that's only fiction just adds to confusion. We begin to distrust. It's hard to tell what is real and fake.
No Signs for the Scribes & Pharisees In today's gospel, Jesus says no to the request by the scribes and pharisees to produce a "sign" that he is the Lord and Messiah. He doesn't think they deserve it. They are prying the Lord for information so they can turn it against him. Jesus clearly doesn't trust the "evil and unfaithful generation" to use the sign for the benefit of the Kingdom of God. In fact, it will only benefit those who are jealous of Jesus and wish to make a mockery out of him.
The sign of our times aren't much different than when Jesus walked on earth. We still live with evil people who want to only use others for their own ambitions. We are surrounded by propaganda and media that's hard to tell is fact or faked. How many times have we seen "signs" of alien life that didn't exist? How many times have wackos warned us that the end of the world is near (i.e. end of the Mayan calendar)? On the flip side of the equation: How many times are signs of God present and we choose to ignore them?
Don't be evil and manipulative like the Scribes and Pharisees. Be more Christ-like in actions, words, and deeds. You will be blessed by doing what is right and just.
-J.
No comments:
Post a Comment