In this morning’s Gospel, we see the Pharisees coming forward to argue with Jesus. They want Him to perform a “sign from Heaven.” It’s not enough that Jesus was teaching wise words and opening the scriptures. Being a Rabbi was not sufficient for them. Neither was it enough for them that Jesus was curing the sick or feeding the hungry through miraculous means. They wanted an apocalyptic portent in the heavens, something spectacular that would in their minds substantiate His claims.
The requests, these demands are to test God, to test Jesus. It’s almost as if the lessons learned in the desert by the Exodus generation are being repeated here by the Pharisees. That, coupled with the story of Cain and Abel, seems to remind us that man began to regress after sin entered the world. What started as a perfect world in a garden of delights was now a world filled with violence, doubt, and distrust of God.
We find ourselves still caught in that same cycle today: the ups and downs, the ins and outs of faith. Humanity seems to turn to God after some horrific event for a time, and then slowly, he moves away. He begins, like the Pharisees, to ask for signs, to test God. When Mark uses “this generation,” He isn’t just speaking to first-century Pharisees. He is speaking to all those who distrust Jesus and demand unmistakable signs of His divine mission.
Jesus answers with a curveball. His statement isn’t as much a refusal to work but rather a claim to divine knowledge. “No sign will be given to this generation.” Jesus lets them know that He knows whether it will happen and that God will not give them any sign period. That’s knowledge only God would have.
All of this leads to one of the most horrifying statements we could face: “Then he left them.” A reminder that God will not force Himself on anyone. That if they choose to remain obstinate in their sin; if they refuse to open their eyes to His presence, that they are choosing to be left behind. But then we have hope, for God never leaves us without hope. Jesus “went off to the other shore.” The opposite of where He was, to a place where people were seeking Him in earnest. A place where it wasn’t about flashy magic tricks or idle curiosity, but rather a place where people were seeking healing for real pain. To people who were seeking to fill up a real spiritual hunger.
As we approach Lent, with Ash Wednesday just two days away, we must begin to ask ourselves what we are seeking Jesus for. Am I hungry for Him? Do I desire the Eucharist more than anything? Is communion with my Lord the focus of my life?
The answers to those questions will help us choose what we should be working on as we journey toward Easter, both liturgically as the Church and our own lives.
Monday of the 6th Week in Ordinary Time: February 15th, 2021