Monday of the Twenty-Eighth Week of Ordinary Time

Lectio

   Luke 11:29–32

Meditatio

“… no sign will be given it, except the sign of Jonah.”

   As I read the Gospel of Luke, I see that in this section Jesus is speaking to various groups of people. In fact, “still more people” are gathering to hear him, so I join the crowd and listen to what he has to say. It seems that this crowd seeks signs too, just like the people where I come from. Besides that, Jesus is saying that the pagan city of Nineveh was more receptive to God’s prophet than this generation is now. Even more, “there is something greater than Jonah here.” Jonah walked through Nineveh and preached repentance. He who is “greater than Jonah” lived, preached, died, and rose from the dead. Am I listening? The conversion of pagan Nineveh is one reality. The victory won for us in God’s Son is quite another. A whole new reality has dawned upon the world in Christ.

   God has sent his Son, and this marks the beginning of a new age that cannot be conquered, dimmed, or dismissed. It’s a new reality with a capital R. God is the measure of everything. All of us have our origin in him. All of us will return to him, to render an account of our lives. In this new era, however, we need not go alone. We have the Beloved Son with us. We are to be marked by his sign: his passion, death, and resurrection. That is how the Father will recognize Christ in us. We are to be a people who, in a very real way, are his own, a people of hope. We follow one “greater than Jonah”; one who walked through death into life. We are to be a people of hope because we know that earthly life, goods, and signs are not the final end. More, much more, awaits us. The “much more” is the sign of Jonah given today. We are Christ’s body, to be his hands and feet today, offering hope to each person and circumstance we encounter.

Oratio

   Father, in giving us Christ, you have given us everything. Saint Paul tells us that in your Son every “spiritual blessing” is ours. Help me understand the depth of what you have done for all generations in giving us your Son. I seek so many things, chasing after bubbles, but in Christ I have more than enough. Thank you for giving us your Beloved Son, teaching us all we need for real fulfillment through him. Thank you for Jesus, who is “greater than Jonah” and calls me to be a sign with him.

Contemplatio

   Make me a sign of life and hope to those with whom I work today.

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ORDINARY GRACE Weeks 18–34: Daily Gospel Reflections (By the Daughters of St. Paul)