Word to the Wise
Monday, February 12, 2018 - Monday in the 6th Week in Ordinary Time
[Jas 1:1-11 and Mark 8:11-13]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 this generation." [Mark]
The request of the Pharisees is similar to the ones made by the devil in the desert when asking Jesus to turn stones into bread or to jump off the roof of the temple. Jesus is not to be understood in that sense of a sign. His mission is not to be a sorcerer or a soothsayer. His healings and powers are not cheap consumer items, but are meant to point to the kingdom he is proclaiming. The one sign in the Gospel According to Mark that matters is the sign of the cross.
It is a common experience for a person or group to test God by demanding an improbable or even ordinary thing to occur at a time and place chosen by the petitioner(s). This is an amazing act of human pride, as if God is a kind of errand runner for skeptics. Yes, the Holy Spirit is constantly present and can provide wisdom to a faithful person. This is not the same thing as what the Pharisees are asking. The first scripture for today from the Letter of James tells us that "If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God who gives to all generously and ungrudgingly, and he will be given it. But he should ask in faith, not doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed about by the wind." Faith will do more for us than an attempt to test God and decide whether or not God passes. AMEN