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Do You Need a Sign?
5 min
Gospel
Mt 12:38-42
Then some of the scribes and Pharisees said to him, “Teacher, we wish to see a sign from you.” But he answered them, “An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign; but no sign shall be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the whale, so will the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. The men of Nin′eveh will arise at the judgment with this generation and condemn it; for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and behold, something greater than Jonah is here. The queen of the South will arise at the judgment with this generation and condemn it; for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and behold, something greater than Solomon is here.
Readings are taken from Dynamic Catholic’s Bible: RSV Catholic Edition.
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Transcript
Do You Need a Sign?
So the Pharisees and the scribes, they're asking Jesus for a sign. Do you do that? Do you ask for signs? Do you ask for proof?
I remember visiting schools, little kids in schools and hearing marvelous stories about things they would ask God for just out of the purity of their heart. And then to think about how polluted the hearts of the scribes and the Pharisees are. To say to Jesus after he's done all of these miracles he's already done tons of miracles we're in the middle of Matthew's gospel to say to Jesus we need a sign it's it's atrocious behavior it feels unbelievable and yet we know human nature and because we know human nature, it is very, very, very believable. And we know human nature because we know ourselves and we know how poorly we can behave at times. But what does Jesus do? Patiently, patiently, essentially says, guys, you're missing the point again. Gotta come back to the heart of the matter.
Give you the sign of Jonah. Obviously they're not understanding that, but they would after his death and resurrection. And then he talks about the queen of the south traveling to hear the wisdom of Solomon. And yet there's something, someone much greater than Solomon here. He's saying, you're missing the point. You're focused on the wrong things. Get back to the heart of the matter. And I gotta tell you, he has to say that to me a lot of times. Often. He needs to say that to me. Sometimes, many times in a single day, he has to say to me, you're missing the point.
You're being distracted. You've got to get back to the heart of the matter. Maybe that's what he's saying to you today. You're missing the point. Allowed yourself to get distracted. It's time to get back to the heart of the matter. The heart of the matter, and so the question is: how central is Jesus to our lives? Are we living a Christocentric life? Are we living life with Christ at the center? When we do, it's amazing. How many things go right. And when we don't, when we're not living a Christocentric life, it's amazing how quickly things go wrong. So let's examine ourselves today. How central is Jesus to your life at this moment in your life? Not a year ago, not ten years ago when you gave your life. God, 20 years ago, this time in your life, not right in this moment, because that's not a good reflection either. Might have just had a bad day. But in this stage of your life, how central is Christ to your life? Have a great day, and remember, Be Bold. Be Catholic.
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