Word to the Wise
Monday, October 12, 2009 - Monday in the Twenty-eighth Week in Ordinary Time
[Romans 1:1-7 and Luke 11:29-32]At the judgment the men of Nineveh will arise with this generation and condemn it, because at the preaching of Jonah they repented, and there is something greater than Jonah here.
There are occasions when Jesus shows frustration with the response to his preaching! The gospel scripture today provides us with one of those occasions. People are constantly asking for a "sign." It's a bit like the reporters at every stop on a political campaign asking the same questions over and over again that have nothing to do with what the candidate is trying to speak about, but rather with the need of the reporters to write about the sensational. In this case, the preaching about the Kingdom of God seems to be taking second place to the need of the audience for "signs." Jesus uses irony to express his frustration. He refers to Jonah's preaching to a pagan city, Nineveh, and the visit of a pagan queen to Solomon. The people of Nineveh and the Queen of the South show greater conversion and understanding than the Jewish faithful to whom Jesus is preaching. The irony is that the audience has someone far greater than Jonah or Solomon preaching to them. Jesus sums up all the prophets and wisdom in his very person! We can ask ourselves the question about our need for "signs" in order to believe. Does it take a miracle? I'm not sure what I would do as an ordinary preacher if my congregation constantly asked me to work some miracle before they would listen to me! What are our expectations? How do they shape our faith response to what Jesus preaches to us? AMEN
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