Wednesday of the First Week in Lent
The openness and imagination of a child’s mind can see wondrous things in and through the ordinary: a laundry basket is a spaceship; a pile of pillows is a fortress; an old blanket is a magic cape. But an older, “wiser,” and more cynical person sees nothing special. Reality is bare and without luster or wonder.
In today’s Gospel, Jesus criticizes the evil generation that seeks a sign. This generation—which could be our generation as easily as that of Jesus—is akin to the cynical adult described above. They see Jesus, and they see the works he is doing, but since their minds and hearts are closed to faith, they do not believe. God will not force them to see, so they interpret the signs before them as nothing out of the ordinary. Those with the gift of faith, however, those with open hearts, like those of children, are able to perceive God’s work for what it truly is.
Though Jesus does not walk among us and perform signs in the same manner that he did in his earthly ministry, he nevertheless offers us signs of his presence that we can perceive through faith: the word of the Scriptures, the sacraments of the Church, and the communion of believers. Today, let us consider how we respond to these signs of Christ’s presence, asking that the Spirit might grace us with the response of faith.