Daily Reflection Monday of the Twenty-eighth Week in  Ordinary Time

What good is a sign if you don’t know what you are looking for? Jesus chastises the crowd for asking for a sign, but could they recognize its significance if they saw one? Just before this scene, Jesus had exorcised a demon from a man. Some people in that crowd refused to accept this act as a sign of God’s presence. Instead, they claimed that the miracle was an act of Beelzebub, the devil. Other people asked for another sign. Jesus tells them that the only sign they will see is that of Jonah. That is, how Jonah, a most reluctant prophet, preached to the nation of Ninevites and they were converted.

We pass so many signs in a given day but we ignore them because, where they are pointing, we do not want to go. For example, we pass by destination signs on the highway, signs which point the way to stores and stadiums, signs which point the way to government buildings and churches. Most of them we ignore because, at the moment, we are not looking for whatever they point to.

A meaningful sign points the way to where we want to go. Unless we know where we want to go the sign is meaningless. A true sign from Jesus Christ, who is the way, the truth and the life, will serve to confirm our faith in God.