Monday of
the 6th Week in Ordinary Time
February 16, 2015 8:30am
The people in today’s gospel ask
Jesus for a sign.
They want him to show something
dramatic or extraordinary to prove that he is the Messiah or the one sent from
God.
It is amazing that they ask for
this.
Right before this in Saint Mark’s
gospel Jesus has just miraculously fed the 4,000 people.
But apparently they do not see or
they miss this as a sign – as an indicator or proof that he is the One promised
by God.
Maybe sometimes we also miss
signs of God’s presence.
And maybe we do because they are
everyday actions or things and we miss how extraordinary they really are.
I am thinking of a older married
couple who just supported and cared for one another, day in and day out until
she passed away after some years of decline.
That is a sign of God’s presence
– faithful, committed, unconditional love.
I am also thinking of persons who
bake casseroles for Our Daily Bread or for the Monday evening dinner at the
Cooperative Food Ministry here in Bel Air.
That is a sign of Jesus’
presence, just as he fed the thousands who were hungry.
The simple point is: let’s be
alert to the signs that are here.
Maybe they do not seem
extraordinary, but maybe they are because they express Jesus’ way in a culture
that does not always do that.
One poet puts it this way and I
will close with this:
“One asked a sign from God; and day by day
The sun arose in pearl; in scarlet set;
Each night the stars appeared in bright array;
Each morn the thirsty grass with dew was wet;
The corn failed not its harvest, nor the vine –
And yet he saw no sign.”
