Daily Gospel Reflection
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October 12, 2020
While still more people gathered in the crowd, Jesus said to them, “This generation is an evil generation; it asks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah. For just as Jonah became a sign to the people of Nineveh, so the Son of Man will be to this generation.
“The queen of the South will rise at the judgment with the people of this generation and condemn them, because she came from the ends of the earth to listen to the wisdom of Solomon, and see, something greater than Solomon is here!
“The people of Nineveh will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, because they repented at the proclamation of Jonah, and see, something greater than Jonah is here!”
There is almost a contradiction in Jesus’ admonition to the crowds as they ask for a sign in today’s gospel passage. Jesus has been roaming around the countryside miraculously healing the sick and working wonders of many kinds for quite some time by this point in the Gospel of Luke. There’s no doubt that he is doing these things, at least in part, so that people might come to have faith in him and understand that he was sent by God. So why would he be so upset that the people ask for a sign?
At other points in the Gospels, it seems clear that people come to see Jesus more for the spectacle of miracles than the substance of faith, so perhaps that was the case on this occasion. Jesus’ reference to Jonah gives us another meaningful insight. Jonah was a reluctant prophet and did not want to go to Nineveh as God commanded because he felt that these people outside of Israel (Israel’s enemy, in fact) did not deserve God’s mercy and forgiveness. Once he finally got to NIneveh, he performed no signs, yet the people responded with overwhelming repentance. And we have one “greater than Jonah” to listen to, here.
Our faith is not in signs or wonders, it is in Jesus himself. When Jesus tells us, “no sign will be given… except the sign of Jonah,” we know that he is not asking us to ignore his other miracles. He is asking us to remember that he came to offer God’s mercy and forgiveness, just as Jonah prophesied to Nineveh. The “sign of Jonah” means that our response to his message should not be to demand something more, like favors or signs. Our response should be like the response of the people of Nineveh: immediate, ongoing, profound repentance.
Perhaps there is no greater miracle than repentance. And no greater sign of God’s presence than God’s mercy.
Prayer
Father of mercy and forgiveness, you are patient with our obstinate hearts. Stir us to be receptive to your Word, Jesus Christ, just as the Queen of Sheba sought the wisdom of Solomon and the Ninevites responded to the prophetic words of Jonah. May we hear your Word and keep it. Amen.
Saint of the Day
Blessed Marcel Callo is another member of the Young Witnesses chosen by the 2018 Synod of Bishops to pray for young people and to guide the decisions of the bishops as they discuss the role of young people in the church and how best to support them. Blessed Marcel is a beautiful example of an ordinary young man who was martyred for his commitment to Christianity.
Born on December 6, 1921 in Rennes, France, Marcel was one of the eldest children in a large family of nine. Marcel, like any eldest child, took responsibility for household chores and cared for his younger siblings. At age thirteen, Marcel began working outside the home as a printer's apprentice. He never entered the seminary, saying in response to inquiries that he felt he could do more good as a layperson.
When he started working, he found that his fellow workers were often bad influences, exhibiting particular disrespect towards women. As a reaction to the lewdness he experienced around him, Marcel kept very strict vigilance over his own behavior towards women.
When he was twenty, he fell in love with a young woman named Marguerite Derniaux, the first woman he had ever asked out on a date. When asked why he had waited twenty years, he responded: "One must master his heart before he can give it to the one that is chosen for him by Christ." Exemplifying his slow and careful manner, Marcel courted Marguerite for what must have been (for her) a long year, before declaring his love for her. When they became engaged, they worked together to form a spiritual life of prayer and Mass together.
Their courtship was unfortunately short-lived. As the post-World War I fragile peace of Europe began to crumble, they were unable to marry before the Germans began to occupy France and Marcel was forcibly deported to Zella-Mehlis, Germany for forced labor in a weapons plant. Besides the crushing knowledge that his work was directly hurting his friends and countrymen, the lack of the sacraments and Mass caused Marcel to fall into a deep depression.
In the thick of his despondency, Marcel discovered a place where Mass was clandestinely offered on Sundays. This weekly Eucharist strengthened him to care for his friends in the labor camp. Marcel organized Christian workers together to build a simple community of good human living. They worked to create a community of joy through recreation and prayer together.
His Christian organizing among his campmates led to his arrest by German authorities in April 1944. Marcel was held in various prisons before being moved finally to Mauthausen concentration camp. He suffered from malnutrition, rough treatment, and a variety of diseases while in prison. He died on March 19, 1945, the feast of St. Joseph.
Marcel was beatified by John Paul II in 1987, and continues to be a patron for young men and women who seek to live Christian lives as laypersons, build Christian community, and make their work and play a joyful witness of the life of Christ.
Blessed Marcel Callo, who showed great bravery in the midst of inhumanity—pray for us!
Image Credit: Our featured image of Bl. Marcel Callo is used with permission from Catholic Online. Last accessed October 3, 2024.