Monday of the Sixth Week in Ordinary Time

 Lectionary: 335

He sighed from the depth of his spirit and said,
"Why does this generation seek a sign?
Amen, I say to you, no sign will be given to this generation."
Then he left them, got into the boat again,
and went off to the other shore.

You know you're in trouble when your friend or loved one stops talking to you. And you should know you're in very deep trouble when your God gets into a boat and sails off to another shore. End of conversation. No more warning will be issued. You're on your own. 

"This generation" sought a sign, but no sign would be given. It sounds familiar. Is there some reason why God should prove he exists before you will believe in him? And how will you prove to God that you exist? 

That's the real question in their minds. I have met people -- we all have -- who cannot remember where they have been, and cannot say where they're going. Do they really exist? How do they know it? As a VA chaplain conducting a group conversation among recovering addicts, I learned not to ask them to detail major events in their life to date. 

I thought that would be an easy task: 

"I was born in such and such a year; I went to these schools; I enlisted in this year; I served in these capacities. This is what I've done since I was discharged." 

But it proved too difficult for many addicts. It hurt too much to try; it's like a headache. 

"Can we put off this discussion till tomorrow, or next week, or next year? I don't want to think of the time and opportunities and money and friendships and people I've wasted. It's too much. I have no past. 

And where am I going. I don't know. What will I do with my freedom from drugs, if I ever get it? I don't know. I guess I'll just do what I want to do; but that's why I am here. I was doing what I wanted."

Many of the Veterans did well in the sobriety program, although the process is demanding and endless. But we know there are millions of hapless individuals in the United States and the world who are not given the help they need. 

Does a person who remembers no past and expects nothing of the future actually exist? They seem to have a body, but no connection to it. 

We know God exists because He speaks to us. We have seen Him acting in our history very deliberately and very obviously. There was Jesus who rose from the dead! There was Moses who, at the Lord's behest, opened the Red Sea and commanded the Hebrews to march through it ahead of the Egyptian army. 

We know we exist because God called us, named us, and gave us a mission. We are to live in the Kingdom of God; we must live in such a way as to demonstrate God's continual presence to others. They should see the wisdom, justice, and mercy of God in our decisions, deportment, and style; and hear it in our language and song.   

This generation wants a sign, but they want it on their own terms. That cannot happen because they keep changing the terms. They're moving the goal posts and no one can win their game. 

He sighed from the depth of his spirit....

Then he left them, got into the boat again,

and went off to the other shore.