Reflection for July 24, Monday of the Sixteenth Week in Ordinary Time: Matthew 12:38-42

Gospel: Matthew 12:38-42

Some of the scribes and Pharisees said to Jesus, Teacher, we wish to see a sign from you.” He said to them in reply, “An evil and unfaithful generation seeks a sign, but no sign will be given it except the sign of Jonah the prophet. Just as Jonah was in the belly of the whale three days and three nights, so will the Son of Man be in the heart of the earth three days and three nights. 

At the judgment, the men of Nineveh will arise with this generation and condemn it, because they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and there is something greater than Jonah here. At the judgment the queen of the south will arise with this generation and condemn it, because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and there is something greater than Solomon here.”

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Reflection:

The story is told about a woman who was in her early forties and was getting desperate already for she was getting old yet she couldn’t find the right man for her. So while at church she said to the Lord, “Lord give me a sign so that I’ll have the man for my lifetime.” 

Then she said to the Lord: “The first man that I see who wears a red tee shirt is the one for me Lord.” Lo and behold, a well built and handsome man wearing a red tee shirt suddenly entered the church. But to her dismay the handsome man was with his wife and children. The desperately seeking woman said to the Lord, this is not my day Lord, until next time. 

Many of us ask for signs and wonders from the Jesus, isn’t our faith more than enough to carry us through in our journey with Jesus? If our faith in Jesus is rock solid we would never ask for any sign whatsoever. Because signs is of no use if we have rock solid faith in Jesus. 

Our faith is more than enough to carry us through our journey with Jesus in this world. Our faith is more than enough to conquer all our fears. We will be able to survive whatever may come to us because we have faith. And we believe that our faith in God will carry us through than any dreadful signs, disease and pandemic from this world. 

Let us not be like the scribes and Pharisees in our gospel who asked Jesus for a sign. Let us rather continue to hold on to our faith in Jesus. Let us continue to strengthen this faith in Jesus by our consistent prayer life. By our consistent presence at Holy Mass, by our frequent visitation at the Adoration Chapel. And by daily reading the bible most specially the life of Jesus if we do these acts of faith we would never anymore ask for a sign. – Marino J. Dasmarinas