Signs
Matthew 16:1-12
Why are we so bad at interpreting signs from heaven?
Photo by Moheb Iskander on Unsplash
The Pharisees and Sadducees came, and to test Jesus they asked him to show them a sign from heaven. He answered them, “When it is evening, you say, ‘It will be fair weather, for the sky is red.’ And in the morning, ‘It will be stormy today, for the sky is red and threatening.’ You know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, but you cannot interpret the signs of the times. An evil and adulterous generation asks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah.” Then he left them and went away. When the disciples reached the other side, they had forgotten to bring any bread. Jesus said to them, “Watch out, and beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” They said to one another, “It is because we have brought no bread.” And becoming aware of it, Jesus said, “You of little faith, why are you talking about having no bread? Do you still not perceive? Do you not remember the five loaves for the five thousand, and how many baskets you gathered? Or the seven loaves for the four thousand, and how many baskets you gathered? How could you fail to perceive that I was not speaking about bread? Beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees!” Then they understood that he had not told them to beware of the yeast of bread, but of the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees. - Matt. 16:1-12
Jesus is right here. We know the world we are in. We can read it, at least in the short term, day to day.
Of course, we often get even that wrong, expecting rain that never comes or missing the forecast of snow.
It snowed the other day, and no one predicted it would.
Jesus makes it sound easy. All we need to do is shift our focus and be observant. But we are too busy for that. Hell, many of us don’t even look where we are walking.
I remember when I was learning to drive, I was told I needed to anticipate what the other drivers would do. I thought that was silly. Surely the other drivers would follow the same rules I followed.
But that isn’t the case.
If you look closely at the way someone is driving, you can tell if he is going to change lanes without warning or suddenly stop. We can read the road.
That is what Jesus is saying. We should get to know the path, the way, and be able to read the road of life.
Things won’t always behave the way they should. We need to be prepared for the worst.
When it comes to signs from heaven, shouldn’t our religious leaders be well-versed in reading them? Maybe not. They, too, can get distracted. We are all too distracted to see what is glaring in front of us.
The time when we stop, look and listen is after we’ve been hit by uncertainty and unexpected events.
Then we see how to see what’s coming.
More to come...