Posted by The WORD in other words (2022) by Fr Jun Alda SVD – Germany
Monday 6th Week in Ordinary Time
In the aftermath of the November 3 elections in the USA, even when it was apparent that Joe Biden was winning, many evangelical pastors who call themselves prophets predicted a landslide victory for Trump. They tried storming heaven with their prayers, asking God for signs, pleading him to intervene by doing something and flip the result in favor of a second term for Trump.
Nothing happened. There was no sign whatsoever from heaven. Trump lost. In all these actions, prayers, and intercessions, there was no real faith involved but only human greed, hate, and divisiveness.
Today’s Gospel speaks of Jesus’ enemies wanting from him a sign from heaven, an apocalyptic sign, some event that could be felt, seen, and heard like the darkening of the sun, the moonlight fading out, the stars falling, and the earth shaking like an earthquake.
These signs will authenticate his claim as one coming from God, speaking and acting in his name. They were not convinced of his previous healing miracles and his feeding of the four thousand hungry people in the desert out of seven pieces of bread and few fishes.
Jesus’ outright refusal – “no sign will be given to this generation” – is a clear indication that, in the absence of faith, there is no sense at all in honoring requests from adversaries. Just as in his hometown, he did not perform any miracle because of their lack of faith.
For those who believe, there is no need for proofs. For those who do not believe, no proof is ever enough.
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