FRIDAY of 29th WEEK
“Jesus said again to the crowds ’When you see a cloud looming up in the west you say at once that rain is coming, and so it does. And when the wind is from the south you say it’s going to be hot and it is.”
In order to recognise the signs of the times, it is right to believe and to understand that it is the same and unique Spriit of God that acts in the universe , in history and in the heart of mankind. We are in fact capable of discerning the signs of the times thanks to the experience that we have receieved from elders , but this experience is outside of ourselves. And so nature educates us to see the coherence of life’s events. This sign, if it is from the inside, brings with it a call, an awakening of my freedom, an increase of faith, hope and charity and an active, fearless committment. When I recognise in an ecent a sign, it is a way of provoking a committment of my freedom for more justice and truth; I can recognise here a light from Jesus’ spirit. We bear in ourselves the suffering of the gap between these words and what we can bring about in our lives. It is Jesus’ Passion that will save us, and that will give us strength and light. In the image and ressemblance of God, we can envisage entering into the goodness of God : ’May I have your love for consolation, I trust in your will, you are Good!’
“Hypocrites! You know how to interpret the face of the earth and the sky. How is it that you do not know how to interpret these times? Why not judge for yourselves what is upright?”
The signs that are given in our world and in all human realities question us! We need to look up and scrutinize the reality which is both in our daily lives and also a reality that is new; we need to do this so as to interpret these human realities , understood in all their existential thickness. We are invited to recognise the signs of divine realities , of God’s deseign on humanity when it passes through worldy events. They are the ’signs of God’s kingdom’ being brought about, this kingdom Jesus announces as being ’very close’. God’s design in the history of mankind was announced by the prophets, and made present in Jesus’ coming. We are invited to join in and commit ourselves. We
can become offended at the violence of events in the world today. Only can God’s Infinite Love have u sapprehend to what extent darkness dwells within our beings, along with malice and nastiness. But the Love of God overcomes all these , it would be only right to get going when faced with such a Lov, and also to love, since we are loved so much! I can then make the expereince of this freeing Love that has life burst forth from my being. We must enter into a new Love in order to find our freedom : ’As I have loved you, love one another’.
“For example, when you are going to court with your opponent, make an effort to settle with him on the way, or he may drag you before the judge and the judge hand you over to the officer and the officer have you thrown into prison. I tell you, you will not get out till you have paid the very last penny.”
In order to bring about this Love in our lives, we need to hold onto the hand of Jesus the Saviour. That is even more precious when the sign of Jesus’ crucifixion or the death of martyrs appear to be scandalous in the eyes of the world. This ’sign of the times’, objects of surprise, of scandal or of admiration, don’t call us just to a contemplation,but are tehre in order to call us to respond, to react. The sign of the Ressurection of Christ is not that he appears on the clouds of heaven, but that men and women are converted to his call, committing thier lives to the Love of God and of their brothers and sisters. And so the Grace of God will triumph over every obstacle there is oto Love in us. It is a dive, an immersion in the Passion and Ressurection of Jesus so that we can be born again to life. What was celebrated at out Baptism, this yes said to Light, Love and Life,we take it on ourselves. With great humility,we ask forgiveness for our difficulty to love, and in this we find our joy and thanksgiving.