20 July 2020 - when we don't get a sign

Today's Readings

(Audio)

“Teacher, we wish to see a sign from you.”

We tend to prefer the dramatic. We want to see the Red Sea split or Elijah's sacrifice consumed by fire from heaven. We want to see Gideon's as the only thing that gathered dew in the night and then straightaway ask for it to be the only thing dry the following night (see Judges 6). Sometimes the LORD does have a place for signs. But the sign he gives are given for the sake of the well disposed, whose hearts were open.

An evil and unfaithful generation seeks a sign,

If we seek a sign merely as entertainment, or worse, for self-justification against the claims of Jesus, no sign will be given that is to our taste. When we think we want signs and wonders from on high we need to be clear about what is actually driving us. Are we seeking God's will? Are we seeking clarity for his mission? Or are we rather looking for excuses to do nothing, or for the reward without willingness to participate in the work?

Jesus never leaves us without means to understand who he is and what he is about. But we don't get to dictate the terms of his revelation.

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.

The resurrection already revealed everything needed to prove the claims of Jesus. It vindicated his preaching and proclamation of the kingdom. More so than the men of Nineveh we have already been given good grounds for belief. Solomon was famed for his wisdom, which the world came to him to hear. But the words of Christ which we have been given are truly the wisdom of God and the power of God (see First Corinthians 1:24).

What we have already been given in Christ should be more than enough for our own belief. When we insist on miraculous signs we often showing a lack of gratitude for what we already have. The fact of who Jesus is is already evident to us, yet because we ourselves are uncomfortable we insist on more from him.

Like the Pharisees we have our own ideas about how the Messiah ought to act and what he ought to do. We imagine dramatic triumph where we instead find wisdom that suffers patiently out of love. Fortunately, our own return and repentance can be similar simple, similar humble and without ostentation.

You have been told, O man, what is good,
and what the LORD requires of you:
Only to do the right and to love goodness,
and to walk humbly with your God.

We need to detach from our desire for drama so we can get to the heart of the matter, the mercy of God revealed in the face of Jesus.

He that offers praise as a sacrifice glorifies me;
and to him that goes the right way I will show the salvation of God.