What Sign Can You Do?

“The crowd said to Jesus:

‘What sign can you do, that we may see and believe in you?

What can you do?’”

John 6:30

Not long after Jesus fed the multitudes with five loaves and two fish the people asked Jesus “What sign can you do so that we may believe?” What? Didn’t you just see, experience, or hear about that miracle? They then proceeded to tell Jesus that their ancestors at manna in the wilderness, but Jesus told them who really gave them that manna — God, and that He Himself now is the Bread of Life.

Do we believe that? Or do we need more signs and wonders to believe? Evidence is not needed for faith. Evidence is needed for empirical research and studies in the natural sciences. Faith is supernatural. No matter how many signs Jesus may give to us or how many miracles He may do, if our hearts lack faith and choose to not believe, we will not believe. So, the question is not “what sign can you do?” but rather, “why is my heart slow to believe?”

May we look around us today and see the beauty of nature — the skies, the clouds, the birds, the sunset, and see how good God has been and continues to be to us. All of this is a gift. This — the precision needed for our earth to exist and function as it does — did not happen by chance, it was planned and created by Our Loving God. If you ask “What sign can you do?” look around and you will find your answer.

Gripped by Fear

“But they were startled and terrified
and thought that they were seeing a ghost.
Then he said to them, ‘Why are you troubled?’”

Luke 24:37-38a

After encountering Jesus on the road to Emmaus, the two disciples went back to Jerusalem to tell the others who seem to also have been some news about sightings of the Risen Jesus. The Apostles were still hiding away in the locked upper room. They were afraid. Their Teacher was dead and they knew the leaders will be looking for them next. They were scared. Did they forget about Jesus and all that they had seen and all that Jesus had taught them? Where was their faith? They were gripped by fear.

Even when Jesus appeared to them, they were afraid and terrified. In fact they thought He was a ghost. Perhaps it was the ghosts that haunt their consciences. They knew it was Jesus. He offered them peace. He showed them His hands and feet and wanted to prove to them that it was indeed Him and that He has truly risen and was not a ghost. Jesus had no need to prove to them, and yet He did, not just once but many times.

Jesus did not need to prove to us that He is the Son of God and yet He did by His life. He did not need to prove to us that He loved us, and yet He did by embracing the Cross and dying on it. Jesus did not need to prove to us that He rose from the dead, and yet He did and appeared to so many people after His Resurrection before His ascension. And finally, Jesus did not need to prove to us His promise that He will be with us always, and yet He did and continues to do so everyday — in the Eucharist.

Are there ghosts from our past that causes us to be gripped by fear and shame? Surrender them to Jesus for He has conquered all things, even death and sin. Allow the Light of Christ to cast away those ghosts that paralyze us so that we may live in the freedom that He has won for us.

Who Do You Obey?

But Peter and the Apostles said in reply,
“We must obey God rather than men.

Acts 5:29

When people in authority asks us to do something, we either comply because we know if we don't, we will get in trouble or we do it because we believe what they are saying or asking of us is truly for our good. The Fourth Commandment - "Honor your father and mother" is extended to teachers and other persons in authority. We must respect and honor our elders and listen to what they have to say, but we must make a decision whether what they are saying is congruent and consistent with what God may be telling us and if what they say point to the true, good, and beautiful. We are not called to just blindly follow and do whatever persons in authority tell us or ask of us - we must discern it and bring it to prayer.

In the Acts of the Apostles (Acts 5:27-33), the Apostles were again found preaching the Good News and telling people about Jesus and the authority figures said to them: "We gave you strict orders, did we not, to stop teaching in that name." And in reply, the Apostles said, "We must obey God rather than men." Were the Apostles being disrespectful and breaking the 4th Commandment? No. They were proclaiming the Truth. The Truth takes precedence. Jesus told them to go and proclaim the Good News to all peoples and sent the Holy Spirit to be with them. So, when men told them to do something that was inconsistent with what the Lord had said, they followed what the Lord said and not what the men said. Will the Apostles be persecuted and punished according to the local law by the authorities? Probably. Standing up for the Truth and doing what is right, even though it is what God commands, does not mean that we will be free from harm and everything will go smoothly. Human beings have the gift of free will and they may choose to exercise that in a way that is inconsistent with the Truth.

When we are faced with decisions, we must discern whether what we are choosing points to the Truth, the good and the beautiful. Even when there are people who challenge us and act in ways that are inconsistent with the Truth, we still must treat them with respect and love, for love is the greatest commandment. You do not need to agree with someone to love them.

Father, teach me how to discern well. Teach me to listen to the spirit of the law and to act with true love and charity. Give me the courage to live for the Truth and the wisdom to do so in love.