The Pharisees came forward and began to argue with Jesus, seeking from him a sign from heaven to test him. He sighed from the depth of his spirit and said, “Why does this generation seek a sign? Amen, I say to you, no sign will be given to this generation.” Then he left them, got into the boat again, and went off to the other shore.
The Gospel of the Lord.
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“Why does this generation seek a sign?”
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In today’s Gospel, Jesus “sighs from the depth of his spirit,” saddened by the blindness of the Pharisees.
They’ve approached him, looking for some grandiose gesture to prove God’s existence among them. They want the heavens opened or a fire sent upon the earth in order to believe.
But for Jesus, the entire world is filled with miracles.
The birth of a child, the changing of seasons, the snow that slowly drips from the sky all reveal God’s hand in the world.
Spiritual people don’t need a life-shattering miracle in order to believe; they see God everywhere, in everything.
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Where do I see the hand of God at work? Or when have I felt his presence?
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It could be the peace we have after a friend listens to our troubles…Or the stillness we feel after a moment spent in silence.
A simple box of chocolates left surprisingly at our door.
A letter in the mail.
A smile from a stranger.
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God is all around us.
We only need to look with eyes of faith to see Him.
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Image credits: (1) Unsplash (2) National Geographic (3) Highlights of ‘People’, National Geographic
Jesus came down with the Twelve and stood on a stretch of level ground with a great crowd of his disciples and a large number of the people from all Judea and Jerusalem and the coastal region of Tyre and Sidon. And raising his eyes toward his disciples he said: “Blessed are you who are poor, for the kingdom of God is yours. Blessed are you who are now hungry, for you will be satisfied. Blessed are you who are now weeping, for you will laugh. Blessed are you when people hate you, and when they exclude and insult you, and denounce your name as evil on account of the Son of Man. Rejoice and leap for joy on that day! Behold, your reward will be great in heaven. For their ancestors treated the prophets in the same way. But woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation. Woe to you who are filled now, for you will be hungry. Woe to you who laugh now, for you will grieve and weep. Woe to you when all speak well of you, for their ancestors treated the false prophets in this way.”
The Gospel of the Lord.
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How many of us remember the story of Cinderella?
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There’s something ironically Christian about it, as the major theme of the story is the reversal of fortunes.
As the story begins, Cinderella is held captive in her own home. Her evil stepmother and stepsisters force her to scrub the floors, to wash their clothes, to make their beds, and to serve them dinner.
She’s essentially a slave. But Cinderella never loses her inner goodness; from start to finish, she’s kind, forgiving, and humble of heart.
And, in the end, her fortune is reversed.
Cinderella journeys to the royal ball, where the prince falls in love with her and crowns her a princess. Together, they live happily ever after.
Meanwhile, Cinderella’s evil stepsisters are forced out of their home, losing everything.
That’s the type of story anyone can cheer for: when the poor become rich, the servant becomes a princess, the underdog wins.
Even in sports, a “Cinderella story” refers to an unlikely team winning in the end, like the Bengals in tonight’s Super Bowl.
In fact, no sports team from Cincinnati has won a championship in 30 years!
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The same idea – the reversal of fortunes – is at the heart of our Christian faith, which Jesus describes in today’s Gospel.
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“Blessed are you who are poor…for the kingdom of God is yours.”
“Blessed are you who are now hungry…for you will be satisfied.”
“Blessed are you who are now weeping…for you will laugh.”
“Blessed are you when people hate you on account of me…leap for joy on that day.”
And the greatest reversal of all, which we read in the Book of Revelation, “Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord,” for they shall live again.
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So, is Jesus telling us that we must be poor, hungry, or persecuted in order to be blessed?
Not at all.
Rather, he invites us to be aware of those who suffer, and to find ways to comfort them. “For whatever you do to these, the least of my brothers and sisters,” he says, “you do to me.”
Therefore, when we forgive others, God forgives us. When we shelter, clothe, and feed our neighbors, God provides for us. When we share our blessings, God blesses us.
This is the difference between Cinderella’s story and ours. While she was forced into serving her stepsisters, Jesus invites us to serve others willingly.
Doing so brings us closer to the world God envisions: a world of harmony and peace.
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In what ways can we help make God’s dream a reality? How can we be a servant of others?
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For example, when dinner needs to be made, the house needs to be cleaned, and the kids need to be picked up from practice, do we gladly offer our help?
When harsh words are exchanged, do we offer an apology? Do we do our best to forgive?
When opportunities arise to be more generous with our time, treasure, and talent, do we embrace them?
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This is the simple, yet challenging, message from the Gospel this week: Serve others like Cinderella. Give yourself away like Jesus.
If we do, then God will reverse our fortune – and bring us back to life.
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Image credits: (1) Interrupting the Silence (2) Cinderella, Disney Inc. (3) Dunfermline Free Church
Jesus left the district of Tyre and went by way of Sidon to the Sea of Galilee, into the district of the Decapolis. And people brought to him a deaf man who had a speech impediment and begged him to lay his hand on him. He took him off by himself away from the crowd. He put his finger into the man’s ears and, spitting, touched his tongue; then he looked up to heaven and groaned, and said to him, “Ephphatha!” (that is, “Be opened!”) And immediately the man’s ears were opened, his speech impediment was removed, and he spoke plainly. He ordered them not to tell anyone. But the more he ordered them not to, the more they proclaimed it. They were exceedingly astonished and they said, “He has done all things well. He makes the deaf hear and the mute speak.”
The Gospel of the Lord.
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Today’s Gospel passage reminds me of an experience I had recently, which wasn’t one of my finer moments.
Sitting in my office, I noticed an Amazon delivery driver pulling up the driveway to drop off a package. So, I went outside to greet him.
After a few attempts of saying, “Sir! Sir! Sir!”I became increasingly frustrated, thinking he was ignoring me.
So, I started walking towards him angrily, but when he turned around and saw the look on my face, he apologetically signaled that he was deaf.
My heart sank. I was quick to judge. Humbled. Embarrassed.
That moment made me consider how difficult it must be to be deaf; nobody can immediately recognize your condition.
You have to interact with a deaf person – hopefully in a kinder manner than I did – before you realize they cannot hear you.
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That moment struck a chord in me. I began to wonder, “Aren’t we all like that man who is deaf?”
Often, we, too, can conceal what burdens us most.
Nobody walks around with a t-shirt on saying: Deaf. Cancer. Difficult marriage. Addict. Frazzled. Bullied. Insecure.
Yet sometimes we are.
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What if we allowed Jesus to pull us aside – to dig his finger into our wounds and heal us? What might he touch?
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While we all wish our healing were as immediate as that deaf man, remember how his healing started: the community brought him to Jesus.
Then, he was healed.
Perhaps that’s where our own healing can begin – by bringing one another to the Lord in prayer. And sooner or later, the Lord will respond:
“Ephphatha! Be opened.”
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Image credits: (1) The Georgetown Voice (2) Dustoffthebible.com (3) pktfuel.com
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