Matthew 12: 38-42 (Monday, July 23, 2007)

The Jews always looked for signs to prove the authenticity of a prophet. Jesus Christ is among the people as the sign of the Father, yet, the people do not recognize him. They are still looking for some other sign in order to acknowledge him as the Son of God. Even if Jesus had performed another sign, it wouldn’t even have made any difference because in Matthew 12: 22, when he healed the man who was blind and mute, they accused him of performing the sign with the power of the prince of demon. The contrast with the people of Nineveh is that at least they believed in the sign given by Jonah and repented. The people see the sign of God in Jesus, yet they do not believe.

Sometimes we are like these people who failed to recognize the presence of Jesus. Many a Catholic rush to all these tele-evangelists who claim to bring people back to life; many Catholics run from one apparition site to the other in search of miracles; yet, Jesus Christ is present with us every day in the Eucharist, healing us of our diseases. Jesus Christ is present in the neighbor that we encounter; Jesus Christ is present in the tabernacle all day. I consider the tabernacle to be the greatest apparition because Jesus Christ is present there, inviting us to come and visit with him. Let us this week acknowledge the presence of Jesus in the Eucharist, neighbor and in the tabernacle and let us worship and adore him.