Gospel: Mark 8: 11-13
In today's reading Jesus declares that no sign will be shown to us; in another version of this story he states that it is a wicked people who seek signs. To seek a sign is to suggest that God is not faithful to his people, not active in the world. Signs of God's love and faithfulness are all around us; it would be more appropriate for God to say to us - show me a sign of your love. Show me that you love one another. Not so easy when the demand is turned back on us.
To seek a sign is to disbelieve the one and only sign that matters - the resurrection of Jesus. To seek signs and apparitions and miracles is to deny the reality of the Eucharist and the Real Presence of Jesus in the world. To seek a sign from God is to seek God on our own terms, to control and understand what by definition cannot be controlled or understood. It is to make religion into a magic show and not a loving relationship with God and each other.
Today is a day for remembering the one sign that matters - the resurrection of Jesus from the dead - and the pledge of God's presence in the world in the Eucharist we share together - the presence of Jesus in the bread and wine and in one another. No other sign will satisfy, no other presence will console us.
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