14th October, 2013
'Asking for signs' - most of our prayers, consciously or unconsciously, are asking for signs; they are directly or indirectly asking for miracles. Is it that bad, or 'wicked' as Jesus calls it today, to ask for a miracle? Personally, I believe it is not! But what is bad and what gets on the nerves of Jesus today is the stubbornness or the blindness that does not allow one to see the miracles, the signs that are present right in front of our eyes. Those who questioned Jesus were only to look keenly into what was happening right in front of them, to understand that Jesus was the Word, the Goodnews of God prepared through the ages. This is what St. Paul tries to communicate in the first reading today. However the people demand a sign, a miracle. Today, if we yearn for signs and miracles, we would do better to remind ourselves of the famous saying (of Stuart Chase): 'For those who believe, no proof is necessary. For those who don't believe, no proof is possible.'