July 16, 2019

Mt 11: 20-24

Then he began to reproach the cities in which most of his deeds of power had been done, because they did not repent. “Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the deeds of power done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. But I tell you, on the day of judgment it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon than for you. 

And you, Capernaum, will you be exalted to heaven? No, you will be brought down to Hades. For if the deeds of power done in you had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day. But I tell you that on the day of judgment it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom than for you.”

New Revised Standard Version, copyright 1989, by the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved. USCCB approved.

What sign are you waiting for?

How often do we say that we would make this or that big change in our lives, if only we had a clear sign from God? Often what that has meant for me is that it’s a change I already know I should make, but I am resisting. I wonder, in those moments, if a sign would really have been enough to move me to the action I knew I should take.

As we see in the Gospel, Jesus’ signs left many living the same lives as before. The problem wasn’t simply one of knowledge, or even faith. It was, and is for us, one of will.

Do we truly desire to follow Christ, to trust Christ, and is that desire greater than the fears and complacency that hold us back? Is there a sign great enough to move us outright, or must we first open ourselves to being moved?

—Nick Courtney, SJ, is a Jesuit scholastic from the USA Central and Southern Province currently working at Strake Jesuit College Preparatory in Houston, TX, where he teaches history and coaches football.

Prayer