We Need Jesus more than Ever. Monday 28th Week Ordinary Time

 

 

Luke 11:29-32

 

 

 

We need Jesus more than everything we do in life. The reason we make efforts to be close to God is not necessarily because of what He gives us. We go to God because we need to have a personal relationship with Him as our Creator.

 

Today, people value God and devalue God according to how miraculous He is in their lives. When nothing is working, it then looks as if God is not real. When something happens we shout and dance unto His name.

 

Unlike the Jews today, we need not to go to God only seeking for signs and wonders, we go to God because of who He is. We go to God because we love Him. This happens when there is an inner hunger to be close and listen to His word.

 

The Gospel of Today

 

In Luke 11:14-16, after Jesus drives out a demon from the mute boy, some of the Jews who are witnesses to this,  try to put Him to the test by asking for a sign from heaven. Secondly, the gospel of today reports that a great crowd became, even more, bigger around Him.

 

This, in essence, indicates that people must have heard about this miracle and they begin to gather in their numbers.

Jesus calls them an evil generation who only seeks for signs and wonders, but the only sign that will be given to them is the sign of Jonah.

 

Like the crowd, many go in the presence of God today only for the sake of wonders and miracles and if they see none, they will conclude that the power of God is not at work at that place.

 

Many Christians today, want someone who will always call down fire from heaven to burn their enemies. Sometimes, we look for people who will make the cloud to turn from white to red. Some lose hope in their ministers if he is not a firebrand.

 

The truth is that We need Jesus more than ever and not miracles. Miracles can then come through the relationship we build with the Lord.

 

Jesus labels the crowd as adulterous because they are coming to Him not because they truly love Him and listen to His word but because they are seeking entertainment with signs and wonders.

 

The Sign of Jonah

 

In the gospel, Jesus says that just as Jonah is a sign to Nineveh, so the son of man will be a sign to His generation.

 

To understand this, we have to go to the greek terminology of a sign. A sign which is semeion means a distinguishing mark or that by which a person is distinguished from others. It can be seen as miracles and wonders by which God authenticates those sent by Him

 

Jonah became a sign to the Ninevites because Jonah stayed in the belly of a fish three days and three nights. Which is an extraordinary event that must have marked Him out as sent by God. And In Matthew’s account, Jesus says that in the same vein, the son of man will be in the heart of the earth, three days and three nights (Matthew 12:40).

 

The resurrection distinguishes Jesus from every other person that has existed on earth. So we need Jesus more than everything we do. His victory over death is the greatest sign, the most wondrous miracle, the highest wonder which truly has not happened before.

 

Only this would have convinced all. He must not make a lame man walk, a blind to see for us to truly accept Him. God has already proved who Jesus is.

 

He is Greater.

 

 

After Jonah’s experience and preaching, the people of Nineveh turned from their evil ways and repented. But Jesus who is greater than Jonah has been preaching and teaching them, yet the people of His time are hard to His words.

 

The Queen of Sheba heard about the wisdom of Solomon and made serious effort to encounter Him (1 Kings 10). But He who is the wisdom par excellence is here (1 Corinthians 1:24), yet his people relegate Him.

 

Jesus is greater than anyone and anything on earth. We need more of Jesus, we need to fill our minds and hearts with His word daily. The hunger to encounter Him daily should be our food. There is no reason to relegate Him.

 

 

Worship is not Limited to Signs and Wonders

 

We do not worship God to entertain ourselves with signs and wonders. We worship Him because we love Him. For Jesus to label the people as a wicked generation signifies how ungrateful they are.

 

What God has done and has been doing for us should enough uplift our faith in Him despite the challenging situations of the time.

 

The quest for signs and miracles shows lack of faith, trust and intimacy with God. Sometimes when we do not get what we want, we lose hope and think Christianity is a scam. Jesus cannot scam you. He died to save you.

 

 

Miracles, challenges and problems should not define how we worship our Creator. And God did not say, He will abandon us.

 

So, our relationship with Him should not be conditioned by circumstances. Jesus is the highest sign that God gives to the world.

 

 

We need Jesus more than every other intention we have. Let us, however, embrace this sign.

 

May God bless you dearest and give us the grace to remain close to Him. Amen.

 

 

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