Why do I feel uncomfortable?

Have you ever pleaded with God to give you a sign?  I have, and I still do; usually when I find myself torn with a tough decision I need to make.  That brings to mind a few questions.  How do we interpret “signs”?  How do we know that a sign is actually a sign and not a desire for a sign creating something out of nothing?  Does God actually send us signs?  I believe He does!  It’s discerning whether the sign is from God or from the ‘evil one’ that will make all the difference.   

Jesus says that Jonah was a sign to the Ninevites (Jonah 3:1-10, Luke 11:29-32).  Imagine yourself as a Ninevite, minding your own business, chopping wood or washing the laundry.  Imagine Jonah, a stranger, walking through town shouting that God was going to destroy your town.  How would you react?  Would you take this as a sign from God? 

I think I would be pretty skeptical.  I think I would pass Jonah off as a lunatic and go back to my laundry.  If I’m honest with myself, as I publicly wave him off, I might also secretly repent out of fear that he was right.  I might ask God to give me a sign that His sign is truly a “sign”!

Whether signs are actually inspired by God or our own imaginations, the message of the prophet and Jesus remains clear.  Repent!  Jonah and the Son of Man preached the same message to different crowds and in different places. 

The people of Jesus’ time were blessed with hearing the actual words of the Savior of the World.  But so are we!  We have the Gospels, the teachings of the Church, the witness of the great saints, the shepherding of the Holy Father, the Sacraments and so much more.  We have countless methods of obtaining the Gospel message in our technological age and, yet, we can easily fail to heed Christ’s message.  Why?

Because it makes us uncomfortable.  We might be afraid that we will suffer in some way.  We can’t allow the prospect of pain and suffering deter us from doing what is right and just.  Nowhere in the Gospels does it say this life will be free from suffering.  Suffering is a tool God uses to get our attention and to accomplish His purposes in our lives.  It is designed to build our trust in the Almighty, but suffering requires the right response if it is to be successful in accomplishing God’s purposes.  Suffering forces us to turn from trust in our own resources to living by faith in God’s resources. 

In Nineveh, the king decreed that everyone should "turn from his evil way."  He didn't simply say they should stop doing evil.  Turning from evil means moving in a new direction; the direction of goodness and holiness.  It means changing our way of handling situations.  It means altering the way we treat others, even if it makes us uncomfortable.

As we continue through the Lenten season, I pray that each of us repents.  God already sent us our sign, His son.  Repent and choose God.  Choose life, freedom, truth and love. 

Life gives us lots of choices, Eternity gives us only two.