41. Missing the Signs (Mt 12:38-50)

“It is necessary that each person freely accept the truth of the love of God. He is Love and Truth, and love as well as truth never impose themselves: They knock on the door of the heart and mind and, where they enter, bring peace and joy. This is the way God reigns; this is his plan of salvation.”

- Pope Benedict XVI

Matthew 12:38-50

Then some of the scribes and Pharisees spoke up. ‘Master,’ they said ‘we should like to see a sign from you.’ He replied, ‘It is an evil and unfaithful generation that asks for a sign! The only sign it will be given is the sign of the prophet Jonah. For as Jonah was in the belly of the sea-monster for three days and three nights, so will the Son of Man be in the heart of the earth for three days and three nights. On Judgment day the men of Nineveh will stand up with this generation and condemn it, because when Jonah preached they repented; and there is something greater than Jonah here. On Judgment day the Queen of the South will rise up with this generation and condemn it, because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and there is something greater than Solomon here. When an unclean spirit goes out of a man it wanders through waterless country looking for a place to rest, and cannot find one. Then it says, I will return to the home I came from. But on arrival, finding it unoccupied, swept and tidied, it then goes off and collects seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they go in and set up house there, so that the man ends up by being worse than he was before. That is what will happen to this evil generation.’

He was still speaking to the crowds when his mother and his brothers appeared; they were standing outside and were anxious to have a word with him. But to the man who told him this Jesus replied, ‘Who is my mother? Who are my brothers?’ And stretching out his hand towards his disciples he said, ‘Here are my mother and my brothers. Anyone who does the will of my Father in heaven, he is my brother and sister and mother.’

Christ the Lord

Jonah and Solomon both prefigured Christ. They were “shadows of things to come” (Colossians 2:17), as St Paul puts it. Solomon was David’s son; he built the Temple and extended the Kingdom of ancient Israel over Gentile nations. Jesus was the definitive promised descendent of David, the Messiah; he erected the everlasting Temple (the Church) and extended the privilege of grace to the Gentiles. Jonah rose again after spending three days in the belly of a great fish (Christ was going to rise after three days in the tomb) and successfully preached repentance to a Gentile city (the Church would take root all throughout the Roman – and Gentile – Empire). The parallels are uncanny, and yet they don’t do justice to the reality. Christ is “greater” than both: they were only God’s instruments; he is the Lord himself.

Christ the Teacher

Jesus shows in this encounter a wonderful and terrible truth. In order to give us the possibility to know and love God and share in his everlasting life, he has chosen to limit, in a sense, his omnipotence.

The Pharisees have clearly understood Christ’s claims. But they don’t want to accept him. So they ask for a sign. For the crowds and the disciples, Jesus’ miracles are signs enough. For the Pharisees, though, they want a sign that leaves no room for doubt. But no such sign exists; since faith in God necessarily involves trusting in his word, no sign can impose it (otherwise you wouldn’t need to trust). God won’t force us.

This is why Jesus calls these skeptics an evil and adulterous generation: they don’t want to believe, because they are no longer seeking to please God. They have betrayed their true vocation and fallen in love with their own glory and honor. Yahweh used the same phrase – “evil generation” – to refer to the Israelites who were freed from Egypt by the parting of the Red Sea. Even after the plagues on the Egyptians, the parting of the Red Sea, the giving of the Ten Commandments, the manna, and numerous other awe-inspiring miracles, they still doubted God’s power and goodness and wavered in their obedience. And so they were not permitted to enter the Promised Land. They didn’t want to believe (the requirements of faith ruffled their selfish feathers), and therefore no matter what God did to prove his love, it simply wasn’t enough – it just made them more stubborn, and more vulnerable to temptation. When we accept God’s benefits but refuse to obey him, we leave more and more room for sin to spread – one devil becomes seven.

More than a little of the Pharisee lurks in each of us. When God’s will makes us uncomfortable, we often sidestep it by asking for clearer signs. It’s not that we don’t know what God wants of us, it’s just that we don’t always trust him enough to want it with him. We should be slow to criticize the Pharisees too harshly, since we so often do what they did, even though we have already seen the sign of Jonah, which they were still waiting for.

Christ the Friend

In this passage, Jesus opens wide his heart, showing us how we can please him, and how we can vex him. The people of Nineveh pleased God, because they heeded his call to repentance. The Queen of Sheba pleased God, because she eagerly went to God’s anointed King to seek out true wisdom. Mary his mother pleased him most of all, because she surrendered herself completely to the Father’s will. At first, Jesus’ response to his mother’s message seems harsh, but in fact he is complimenting her, pointing out that her real greatness lay in the spiritual docility that enabled her to fulfill her vocation, not in the mere fact of physical motherhood.

Jesus: It is simple to sustain our friendship: just follow the path of those who have traveled before you – always be attentive to my voice, echoing in the interior of your conscience; seek always true wisdom, following my vicar on earth, the pope, so that my loving will can govern your life. Then you will be closer to my heart than you could ever imagine, closer even than genetic ties, and I will fulfill you beyond anything you could hope for.

Christ in My Life

No one compares to you, Lord, not history’s great kings, like Solomon, and not history’s great prophets, like Jonah. You are far above the greatest of history’s champions. Why do I forget this? Why do I get so used to having you so close, you who are my Creator, the source of life and wisdom? Teach me to love you more…

I think of all the signs you have given me in my life. So many gifts, so many assurances of your presence. I thank you for making yourself known to me, Lord. Never let me give in to doubt. Never let me prefer my will to yours, even when yours is demanding and uncomfortable. Your love and your grace are enough for me; just show me your will and give me the strength to do it…

The same Lord of life and history, greater than Jonah and Solomon and all the others who came before and after them, is present in my soul and in the Eucharist. What more could I desire in life than to have you so close? So many people don’t know you. They desperately look for Solomons and Jonahs. Send me to tell them about you. Help me to show you to everyone in my life by living just like you…

Yours in Christ, Father John Bartunek, LC

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