Mk 8:11-13The 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 Pharisees are an enigma to me. They are the “Scribes” who wrote and interpreted the early Scriptures, yet they couldn’t see the fulfillment of them in Jesus. I think that is why, in today’s Gospel, Jesus “sighed from the depth of his spirit”---it was that same sigh we all use when we are extremely frustrated at those who just don’t seem to “get it”, even when the answer in right in front of them!
The Pharisees knew, from the earliest writings that “the blind will receive sight and the lame walk, the lepers will be cleansed and the deaf hear, the dead will be raised up, and the poor will have the Gospel preached to them.” (Mt 11:5) Jesus did all of these things in their midst and they still denied seeing the “signs”. Even as He was dying, they demanded that He show them proof of His authority by lowering Himself from the cross. But He remained true to His promise and denied them yet another sign. He knew that even if He had lowered Himself, they would require yet another, and another, and again another “sign”. They couldn’t see the signs right in front of their eyes!
As we were getting ready for Mom’s “90th Birthday Extravaganza” this week, all of my siblings and a boatload full of other relatives and friends showed up here in Lodi to help her celebrate. It was great to see my brothers and sister again all in one place at the same time! We don’t get a chance to do this often enough. I see each of them individually periodically, but not all together. It was pretty cool for me.
Sometime Friday Dick mentioned that we should replace Mom’s screen door, which was in really bad shape and falling off the frame. “We’ll wait for Bill, since he’s the carpenter,” he said. I remember thinking, “I’ve got to use that line somehow this week in a blog”.
Sure enough, after getting beat up on the golf course Saturday morning (the brothers got “beat up”—I was playing to my usual standard), Dick brought up the screen door. I said to Bill, “When Dick said we would wait for the Carpenter, I had an entirely different thought, but I guess you’ll have to do.” Bill replied, “And whattya know? You got both.” We had a good laugh, but the more I thought about it all day Saturday, Sunday, and now into Monday, it was really a profound thought.
Christ is truly present in the Eucharist, and we, as Catholics receive Him into our very souls every time we receive Communion. He is not limited to the Eucharist, however, so we should also look for Him in others and more importantly show Him to others through our words and actions. This is the sign that He is among us. There are still Pharisees around who are looking for more, but until we each see Him at the particular judgment, we’ll have to be content with finding Him and showing Him to those around us.
The Pharisees are an enigma to me. They are the “Scribes” who wrote and interpreted the early Scriptures, yet they couldn’t see the fulfillment of them in Jesus. I think that is why, in today’s Gospel, Jesus “sighed from the depth of his spirit”---it was that same sigh we all use when we are extremely frustrated at those who just don’t seem to “get it”, even when the answer in right in front of them!
The Pharisees knew, from the earliest writings that “the blind will receive sight and the lame walk, the lepers will be cleansed and the deaf hear, the dead will be raised up, and the poor will have the Gospel preached to them.” (Mt 11:5) Jesus did all of these things in their midst and they still denied seeing the “signs”. Even as He was dying, they demanded that He show them proof of His authority by lowering Himself from the cross. But He remained true to His promise and denied them yet another sign. He knew that even if He had lowered Himself, they would require yet another, and another, and again another “sign”. They couldn’t see the signs right in front of their eyes!
As we were getting ready for Mom’s “90th Birthday Extravaganza” this week, all of my siblings and a boatload full of other relatives and friends showed up here in Lodi to help her celebrate. It was great to see my brothers and sister again all in one place at the same time! We don’t get a chance to do this often enough. I see each of them individually periodically, but not all together. It was pretty cool for me.
Sometime Friday Dick mentioned that we should replace Mom’s screen door, which was in really bad shape and falling off the frame. “We’ll wait for Bill, since he’s the carpenter,” he said. I remember thinking, “I’ve got to use that line somehow this week in a blog”.
Sure enough, after getting beat up on the golf course Saturday morning (the brothers got “beat up”—I was playing to my usual standard), Dick brought up the screen door. I said to Bill, “When Dick said we would wait for the Carpenter, I had an entirely different thought, but I guess you’ll have to do.” Bill replied, “And whattya know? You got both.” We had a good laugh, but the more I thought about it all day Saturday, Sunday, and now into Monday, it was really a profound thought.
Christ is truly present in the Eucharist, and we, as Catholics receive Him into our very souls every time we receive Communion. He is not limited to the Eucharist, however, so we should also look for Him in others and more importantly show Him to others through our words and actions. This is the sign that He is among us. There are still Pharisees around who are looking for more, but until we each see Him at the particular judgment, we’ll have to be content with finding Him and showing Him to those around us.
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