Mark 8:11-13

We are in the sixth week of Ordinary Time.

Today the evangelist Mark tells us about Jesus' refusal of the Pharisees' seek for a sign from heaven.

The Pharisees came and began to argue with Jesus. They were a group of Jews who intended to strictly follow the Law of Moses. The Pharisees were important leaders in the synagogues, which were the official places of worship on the Sabbath. They were bothered by Jesus and His teachings, because they supposedly relativized the Law of Moses. And the Pharisees openly criticized Jesus. They were His adversaries, because they considered Him dangerous, negatively influencing the people.

To put Jesus to the test, the Pharisees sought from Him a sign from heaven. But He refused to give them any sign and went off.

Jesus had already performed many signs from heaven: He had healed the sick, He had cast out unclean spirits, He had restored life to a dead girl. These signs were performed because people believed in Jesus, they had faith in Him. But where people did not have faith, He did not perform signs.

The Pharisees definitely did not believe in Jesus. On the contrary, they challenged Him, questioning His power.

Jesus was humble and prudent. He only performed signs to give glory to God and to promote life. Jesus would never perform signs just to satisfy human curiosity and to magnify Himself with it.

Even today there are people who condition their faith in Jesus on the sight of signs or miracles. They want to "see in order to believe." But Jesus' logic is different: you have to "believe in order to see."

On the one hand, today we are called to believe in Jesus, not because we see signs from heaven, but because we see His immense love for God and for the people who were suffering. And, on the other hand, we must flee from disputes over popularity and ego clashes. Besides being ridiculous, they do not promote the glory of God.

Local: Springfield, MA, EUA

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