We are a people of signs. We live by
the order and symmetry and reason they provide. Just think of what
life wold be like if there were not stop signs, or exit signs, or
even more surreal, if we had no words – words are simply signs that
help us express what we were thinking or feeling.
Today Jesus gives us two signs: the
sign of Jonah, who “was in the belly of the whale three days and
three nights,” and the sign of the wisdom of Solomon, which was
revered by the nations for its power to judge justly.
Jesus gives us these signs to tell us
who he is
- He is The One who comes to conquer death and redeem the world, in a way echoed by Jonah's three-day sleep in the belly of the whale and his work of repentance in Nineveh.
- He is The one who not only has wisdom, but IS the very Wisdom in which Solomon only faintly participated.
Jesus does not disregard our need for
signs; far from it. In fact, He went on to found a Church whose
lifeblood is based in the outward signs of the internal grace
received in the 7 sacraments of the Church.
But Jesus does challenge us to
know these signs for what they are;
not magic tricks or silver bullets, but
the healing balm of truth for the gaping wounds of deceit left on our
souls by sin.
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