Monday of the Sixteenth Week in Ordinary Time
Faith And Signs
Liturgical Cycle: A | Lectionary Cycle: II
Introduction
Year II. God calls the Hebrew people before his court and asks them to justify their conduct. How have they answered his love? The prophet uses a style which the Reproaches (Improperia) of Good Friday imitate.
Gospel. In the gospel, the scribes and the Pharisees demand signs. The Hebrews had failed to see the sign of God in the fact that he had quietly led them to freedom and made them into a people. The scribes fail to recognise God in the message and person of Jesus, in his service, loyalty, and love. God is not a God of publicity. His presence is discreet. The sign of Jonas was that the Ninevites believed his preaching; the three days in the belly of the fish as a reference to the three days of Jesus in the tomb may be a later addition.
Opening Prayer
Lord our God,
in times of anguish and desolation
We sometimes call for signs and miracles
That assures us of your presence.
Forgive us our presumption
and give us a faith strong enough
to recognise you at work in nature,
in the ordinary events of life
and in the goodness and service of people.
We entrust ourselves to you
through Jesus Christ, our Lord.
First Reading
Call to Judgment – Complaints and Threats
Hear what the Lord says:“Stand up, let the mountains hear your claim, and the hills listen to your plea.”
Hear, O mountains, the Lord’s complaint! Foundations of the earth, pay attention! For the Lord has a case against his people, and will argue it with Israel.
“O my people, what have I done to you? In what way have I been a burden to you? Answer me.
I brought you out of Egypt; I rescued you from slavery; I sent Moses, Aaron, and Miriam to lead you.
“What should I bring when I come before the Lordand bow down to God Most High? Should I come with burnt offerings, with sacrifices of yearling calves?
Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, with an abundance of oil libations? Should I offer my firstborn for my sins, the fruit of my body for my wrongdoing?”
“You have been told, O man, what is good and what the Lord requires of you: to do justice, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.
Responsorial Psalm
Psalm 50:5-6, 8-9, 16bc-17, 21, 23
R. (23b) To the upright I will show the saving power of God.
“Gather my faithful ones before me,
those who have made a covenant with me by sacrifice.”
And the heavens proclaim his justice;
for God himself is the judge.
R. To the upright I will show the saving power of God.
“Not for your sacrifices do I rebuke you,
for your burnt offerings are before me always.
I take from your house no bullock,
no goats out of your fold.”
R. To the upright I will show the saving power of God.
“Why do you recite my statutes,
and profess my covenant with your mouth,
Though you hate discipline
and cast my words behind you?”
R. To the upright I will show the saving power of God.
“When you do these things, shall I be deaf to it?
Or do you think that I am like yourself?
I will correct you by drawing them up before your eyes.
He that offers praise as a sacrifice glorifies me;
and to him that goes the right way I will show the salvation of God.”
R. To the upright I will show the saving power of God.
Alleluia Verse
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
If today you hear his voice,
harden not your hearts.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel
The Sign of Jonah
Then, some teachers of the law and some Pharisees spoke up:
“Teacher, we want to see a sign from you.”
Jesus answered them:
“An evil and unfaithful people seek a sign; but no sign will be given them except the sign of the prophet Jonah.
Similarly, as Jonah spent three days and three nights in the belly of the whale, so the Son of Man will spend three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.
At the judgment, the people of Nineveh will rise up with this generation and condemn it, because they repented at the preaching of Jonah—and there is someone greater than Jonah here.
At the judgment, the Queen of the South will stand up and condemn you. She came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and here there is someone greater than Solomon.
Prayers of the Faithful
– For open minds and hearts, that we may believe in God and see the presence of God’s goodness and love in nature and in the good people do, we pray:
– For faith in the gospel and in the person of Jesus when we see how people try to bring his justice and mercy into our world, we pray:
– For gratitude that God has given us the Jewish people as our ancestors and great source of faith, we pray:
Prayer over the Gifts
Lord our God,
We bring this bread and this wine before you
And we ask you:
Give us eyes of faith to believe
that in these bare, simple signs
Your Son can make himself present
and give himself to us
as the one who serves and shares.
We ask you this through Christ our Lord.
Prayer after Communion
Lord our God,
You have won our love
through your Son Jesus Christ,
who died that we might live.
Through him, give us too
the faith and the quiet strength
to serve with a discreet love.
In this way, we can perhaps be
The sign of your presence among people.
We ask you this through Christ our Lord.
Blessing
God asks us why we don’t see the signs of his presence and work among us. If only we had enough faith! May God open our eyes and bless you, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
REFLECTIONS
Matthew 12:38-42
The Gospel of Matthew had already reported several signs and miracles performed by Jesus. As the people have observed what Jesus is doing, they have been filled with praise and amazement, claiming that “God has visited his people”. But the religious leaders, blinded by their prejudice, accused Jesus of using the powers of Satan for his teachings, exorcisms and healings.
In today’s passage, they again ask for a sign from heaven - this time, it appears genuine. However, with this request from the leaders, Matthew exposes the hypocrisy of the Pharisees and scribes, who must have been demanding that Jesus present his credentials.
Jesus responds by calling them an “evil and unfaithful generation that asks for a sign”. All around them, miracles were happening, but they pretended to be blind. They refused to believe regardless of what he did or said, so the Lord called them an “evil and unfaithful generation.”
Remember the story of the rich man and poor Lazarus? One was in hell, the other on Abraham’s bosom. Father Abraham tells the rich man in hell: “If they [his brothers and sisters] do not listen to Moses and the prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.” The same is true for those who reject Jesus. Arguing with those who reject God is pointless. Faith is the only way to prove God, not arguments.
Jesus offers them the “sign of Jonah,” – which was well understood by the listeners of Matthew. The story of Jonah, who stayed in the fish’s belly for three days, and the belief that Jesus rose from death on the third day were well known to them. However, the Jews in Antioch who refused to believe in Jesus also refused to believe in this resurrection story. They refused to believe Jesus’ teachings and mighty works because they considered themselves people of knowledge and learning who knew everything.
Our biggest temptations today are probably complacency and intellectual pride. Like the scribes and Pharisees in today’s Gospel, sometimes we are stiff-necked and stubborn. We refuse to let go of our set behaviour patterns and think everyone else is wrong. The Gospel invites us to open our eyes to God’s miracles all around us and witness their beauty.