“We need signs by which to live, to ensure we are moving in the right direction. Jesus is the sign given by God.” Read today’s reflection from the Daily Mass.
BIBLE READINGS: You can find the readings for Monday in the sixth week of the year here
We’d be lost without signs. We’d end up driving down one one-way streets, be left looking for the toilets in pubs and restaurants, not know when it was safe to cross a busy crossroads, or not be able to find the cheese aisle in a supermarket. Imagine a world without signs. We’d have to talk to others to find out where we wanted to go!
In the gospel reading, the Pharisees want to talk to Jesus. Or, rather, they have come to argue with him. They try to test him, by asking for a sign from heaven. If he could provide one of those, then that would prove his power. But Jesus refuses to fall into their little trap. He is exasperated at their need for a sign, and he eventually leaves them to their petty arguments.
Sometimes, as we try to make sense of life or look for comfort or reassurances, some may see signs everywhere—often in the most extraordinary of places. For example, seeing faces in random places—whether that be clouds, cookies, crackers or burnt toast—is a common phenomenon known as “pareidolia.” It is driven by the brain’s evolutionary and automatic drive to identify faces for social navigation, which often causes it to see things that are not actually there. Some people can take this to extraordinary levels, inventing all kinds of ways in which they believe signs have been given to them either from God or from beyond the grave.
God has revealed his purpose to us in Christ. He has shown us how to follow him, and how he desires us to live. We need signs by which to live, to ensure we are moving in the right direction. Jesus is the sign given by God. If we remain close to him, follow him, and be faithful to him then we will experience his merciful love, his loving care, and his caring touch, for he is the way, the truth and the life. He is the good shepherd who leads us through the darkest valley to pastures green.
Mass today is at St Dyfrig and S Samson’s church at 630pm
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