Gospel: Lk 11:29-32
WHILE still more people gathered in the crowd, Jesus said to them, “This generation is an evil generation; it seeks a sign, but no sign will be given it, except the sign of Jonah. Just as Jonah became a sign to the Ninevites, so will the Son of Man be to this generation. At the judgment the queen of the south will rise with the men of this generation and she will condemn them, because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and there is something greater than Solomon here. At the judgment the men of Nineveh will arise with this generation and condemn it, because at the preaching of Jonah they repented, and there is something greater than Jonah here.”
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Jesus laments that in spite of his miracles before them, the people do not believe in him. They demand extraordinary signs. Jesus brands them as evil generation.
The people of Nineveh in Assyria some 700 years earlier fared much better. They repented at Jonah’s preaching. God forgave them and spared them from destruction.
The generation of Jesus is problematic. The people do not get the point. They do not repent when they hear the good news.
Let us take care not to belong to what Jesus calls an evil generation – hardened unbelievers unmoved by God’s wonderful acts.
The Gospel makes us reflect on how we react or respond to God’s Word. When I hear it proclaimed in church and explained in the homilies, am I touched? Do I repent of my sins that I realize after having encountered Jesus in his Word and Sacrament? Is there change in me, like becoming more respectful to the elderly, considerate to the poor and lowly, more charitable, more prayerful?
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SOURCE: “365 Days with the Lord 2018,” ST. PAULS Philippines, 7708 St. Paul Rd., SAV, Makati City (Phils.); Tel.: 895-9701; Fax 895-7328; E-mail: [email protected]; Website: http://www.stpauls.ph.
