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Jesus knows we must come apart and rest awhile, or else we may just plain come apart.
- Vance Havner
(What is the balance between rest and effort in your life? How can you tell when things are out of balance?) |
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GAL 4:22-24, 26-27, 31–5:1; PS 113:1B-2, 3-4, 5A AND 6-7
LK 11:29-32
While still
more people gathered in the crowd, Jesus said to them,
"This generation is an evil generation;
it seeks a sign, but no sign will be given it,
except the sign of Jonah.
Just as Jonah became a sign to the Ninevites,
so will the Son of Man be to this generation.
At the judgment
the queen of the south will rise with the men of this generation
and she will condemn them,
because she came from the ends of the earth
to hear the wisdom of Solomon,
and there is
something greater than Solomon here.
At the judgment the men of Nineveh will arise with this generation
and condemn it,
because at the preaching of Jonah they repented,
and there is something greater than Jonah here."
you,
I shall repay you on my way back.'
Which of these three, in your opinion,
was neighbor to the robbers' victim?"
He answered, "The one who treated him with mercy."
Jesus said to him,
"Go and do likewise." USCCB lectionary
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Reflection on the Scripture |
"This is an evil age. It seeks a
sign. But no sign will be given it except the sign of Jonah." —Luke 11:29
To the Pharisees who wanted a dazzling, miraculous sign, Jesus offered the sign of Jonah. What was the sign of Jonah? It was a sign with two meanings. First, it was a sign of the Resurrection of Jesus. Jonah was buried in the water in the belly of a large fish, and was delivered safely to land on the third day (Jon 2:1, 11). Second, another
sign of Jonah was the sign of repentance. The entire population of the sinfully wicked city of Nineveh, 120,000 people, repented upon hearing the prophetic word of Jonah (Jon 3:4-5, 4:11).
One of the greatest of signs is a repentant heart. To see many repentant hearts is a phenomenal sign that was difficult to miss. This is why a sinner who repents brings great joy in heaven (Lk 15:7, 10). Tax collectors and prostitutes, the
most public of sinners, were repenting and turning to Jesus and to God. Nonetheless, the Pharisees missed this sign, even when Jesus pointed it out to them (Mt 21:31).
Perhaps many do not notice the Lord working in the present time because they don't see people repenting of their sins and changing their lives. If repentant sinners are the sign God gives that could bring people to God, then let's repent and get in line for
Confession. Lengthen the line for Confession by repenting of your sins and inviting others to Confession. Be a sign. Repent!
Prayer: Father, create in me a clean heart (Ps 51:12) so that I might be a life-long minister of reconciliation (2 Cor 5:18).
Promise: "It was for liberty that Christ freed us. So stand firm, and do not take on yourselves the yoke of slavery a second time!" —Gal 5:1 Presentation Ministries
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Abandonment to Divine Providence - by Jean-Pierre de Caussade
CHAPTER II. THE DIVINE ACTION WORKS UNCEASINGLY FOR THE SANCTIFICATION OF SOULS.
SECTION I.The Divine Action.
The divine action, although only visible to the eye of faith, is everywhere, and always
present.
All creatures that exist are in the hands of God. The action of the creature can only be perceived by the senses, but faith sees in all things the action of the Creator. It believes that in Jesus Christ all things live, and that His divine operation continues to the end of time, embracing the passing
moment and the smallest created atom in its hidden life and mysterious action. The action of the creature is a veil which covers the profound mysteries of the divine operation. After the Resurrection Jesus Christ took His disciples by surprise in His various apparitions. He showed Himself to them under various disguises and, in the act of making Himself known to them, disappeared. This same Jesus, ever living, ever working, still takes by surprise those souls whose faith is weak and
wavering.What could be more easy, and who could refuse to love a will so kind and so good? Let us love it then, and this love alone will make everything in us divine.
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