MIRACLES: SIGNS AND MESSAGES FROM GOD
Memorial of St. Kateri Tekakwitha, Virgin
My dear encountered couples:
The miracles worked in the cities Jesus is criticizing were signs and messages from heaven. They were to make everyone take notice of Jesus and start them thinking about who and what he was. Apparently, many missed the point. They seem to have responded to his miracles by saying something like, “That’s nice,” and then go back to whatever it was they were doing.
Jesus tried, and tried, and tried again to get the wheels turning in their heads, but it seems to have been of little avail. And so, he said, “It will go ill with you, Chorazin and Bethsaida! If the miracles worked in you had taken place in Tyre and Sidon, they would have reformed in sackcloth and ashes long ago...As for you, Capernaum, if the miracles worked in you had taken place in Sodom, it would be standing today. It will go easier for Sodom on the day of judgment than for you.” I’d say Jesus was a bit frustrated with those people, wouldn’t you?
It has been said that everything in our lives has a purpose, everything has a meaning, everything contains a message from God, even the habitual and routine things. If that be a possibility shouldn’t we take time out from our busyness to see if God is really trying to tell us something?
We check our phone answering machines, computer buffs check their E-mail, executives check in with their secretaries for messages, why not check the happenings in our lives to see if there is a message in them from God? The people of those three cities missed the messages contained in the miracles of Jesus. I wonder how many of his messages we miss when we don’t look deeper into all that happens during our day.
Let us ask for the graces of conversion, courage, and trust in Jesus' promise to be with us. Let us examine what we have failed to do. Let us listen to the Gospel with ears alert to how it addressed our discipleship. And, let us ask for the grace to enter more deeply into Jesus' words: “If you try to save your life, you will lose it. But, if you lose your life - let go of it, think of others' needs first, be a witness in the world for the sake of the Gospel - you will really find yourself.”
