When we look for a sign of why we lack trust in the Lord, our religious quest is no longer authentic, and we fall into the economy of success, rejecting the humble one of the kingdom. Of course, we say that we are looking for signs, success, to give glory to God, but in reality, we clothe ourselves in something that gratifies and comforts us only. But Jesus does not accept this way of doing things; on the contrary he harshly criticizes it: “An adulterous and perverse generation”, He says; a generation that does not have its gaze fixed on God; a generation that no longer dares to risk, that fears to abandon itself to pure faith.
Jesus teaches an economy of faith that knows how to accept the failure of a project; he denounces that earthly request for signs which reaches the point of canceling the true search for God alone, and which is an idolatry that is commonly present in the human heart. For this he promises the sign of his death on the cross, of his defeat. In reality, it is a countersign. To those who look for striking signs, Jesus announces his entering into the darkness of the netherworld. That is, his death. Obviously, Christ’s resurrection is also evoked, but as understood in death for love, in the absolute confidence that the Son has in the Father.
How Many Signs?
How many signs do we need to truly believe that Jesus is the ultimate revelator of the Father? How many “weeping statues” and sensational miracles do we need to surrender to the evidence of faith? In this line, we see the attitude of the Pharisees as disheartening and saddening. Jesus spoke and performed unequivocal signs, healed the blind and the lame, the deaf and the dumb. The Pharisees have seen discouraged and despondent people revived by hope. They saw tenderness and sweetness, attention and strength, compassion, and courage. But these things meant nothing to them; their hearts are heavy, hardened, nailed down. They ask for signs, as if the signs were to change our life. Jesus is irritated: no, he will not give other signs than that of Jonah. Jonah, the reluctant prophet who, called by God to announce the destruction of Nineveh, prefers to flee far from the Lord and the great city. But, in the end, Jonah will agree to preach and, unexpectedly, the inhabitants of Nineveh will convert. And behold, there is more Good than Jonah: the blessed Lord Jesus.
The sign of Jonah is the sign of a prophet who did not want to announce God. And for this he ended up for three days in the belly of the fish. However, God comes into our life with his love and his gifts. But we may not have the heart available to recognize and welcome him. And so we lose so much grace and so many spiritual, human, and material gifts.
