Today’s Scripture Readings

Gospel Reading

NRSV

The Pharisees came and began to argue with him, asking him for a sign from heaven, to test him. And he sighed deeply in his spirit and said, ‘Why does this generation ask for a sign? Truly I tell you, no sign will be given to this generation.’ And he left them, and getting into the boat again, he went across to the other side.

I was struck in this Gospel when it said that Jesus ‘sighed deeply in his spirit,’ the kind of sigh that feels known to most of us. Jesus, questioned once again by the Pharisees seeking to test and trap Him, must have been exhausted with their games. They approach Him argumentatively, demanding a sign not out of openness, but suspicion. In response to this request made in bad faith, Jesus rebukes them saying no sign would be given. Not because He is unable, but because their hearts are closed to anything He might reveal.

This raises a second, more personal question: Should we be asking for signs from God?

There is an innately human desire to ask for a sign, seeking indisputable evidence that we may know without doubt. Yet, as with Thomas later in the Gospels, Jesus shows us that faith cannot exist where absolute proof eliminates all doubt. Faith requires room for doubt so we can place our trust in Jesus. On top of this, we have received a sign from God already in the scriptures, we have this as a foundation of faith.

This passage invites us to change our perspective. Instead of demanding signs that serve our expectations, we are called to trust in Jesus as He already walks beside us. God’s signs are rarely the dramatic gestures we imagine—they more often come as quiet graces, gentle nudges, the steady presence of Christ in our ordinary life. Rather than asking for a sign, perhaps ask Jesus for eyes to recognise the signs already given. For when our hearts are open, we can discover that God has been moving in our hearts and lives all along.

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