From the responsorial psalm: “Who is like the LORD, our God, who looks upon the heavens and the earth below? He raises up the lowly from the dust; from the dunghill he lifts up the poor. Blessed be the name of the Lord forever.”
A reading from the holy Gospel according to Luke (Lk 11:29-32)
“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.”
The condemnation of Jesus ought to have stirred the crowd to repentance. Although Luke doesn’t describe the crowd’s response to these words, it seems likely that the teaching fell on deaf ears. Jesus reveals to the crowd two ways that God has shown his signs in the past, in the wisdom of Solomon, sought by the Queen of Sheba and in the repentance of the Ninevites, who heard and responded to Jonah’s message. The something greater here that Jesus refers to is not another sign but what every prophet points to—that which is, the Great I AM, the very presence of God in flesh and blood. God has given signs, but the crowd rejects them. What Jesus calls evil is the deliberate choice of the people.
God, help me see your goodness, whether I see it in a sign fulfilled or in the peaceful indwelling of the Holy Spirit. If a sign or signs point to you throughout the day, I will welcome them. Still, if I know you are near by every good gift you give me, by your grace, let me rest in the truth of that faith; I don’t need signs. For the times when I have no awareness of your presence, give me the grace, now and then, to trust that you are near. Guard my heart as I hear other voices that may call me away from you. Help me keep in mind the Gospel acclamation: “If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.” Saint Callistus I, pray for us!
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.
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