All Signs Point To Him
- Deacon Dan DeLuca
- Oct 21, 2022
- 5 min read
Signs are all around us. They govern our lives. When we wake up, we look out the window to see the weather: are there clouds in the west, let me grab an umbrella. As we drive our car down the highway we notice traffic slowing down: there must be an accident, let me exit early. We live our lives reading and interpreting the signs around us. Yet so many of us fail to see the signs that matter, the signs that point to Jesus. Ultimately, every sign out there, points to him who is Truth. As we read this Gospel let us ask the Lord to show us those things that blind us: from seeing that all signs point to him.
Interpreting the Time and Settling with Your Opponent
He also said to the multitudes, “When you see a cloud rising in the west, you say at once, ‘A shower is coming’; and so it happens. And when you see the south wind blowing, you say, ‘There will be scorching heat’; and it happens. You hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of earth and sky; but why do you not know how to interpret the present time? “And why do you not judge for yourselves what is right? As you go with your accuser before the magistrate, make an effort to settle with him on the way, lest he drag you to the judge, and the judge hand you over to the officer, and the officer put you in prison. I tell you, you will never get out till you have paid the very last copper.” Luke 12 : 54-59
Scriptural Analysis
Turning now to the crowd, Jesus tells them that they are good at interpreting external signs such as those signs that pertain to the weather: storms from the Mediterranean in the west or a desert heat wave from the south. However they can’t interpret the signs of the present time, an opportune time, kairos, for repenting and recognizing Jesus as the Messiah. Because of this disparity, because of their ability to understand external signs but not internal signs, Jesus calls them hypocrites.
Jesus will return to this theme of recognizing signs when he reaches Jerusalem, “and dash you to the ground, you and your children within you, and they will not leave one stone upon another in you; because you did not know the time of your visitation.” (Luke 19:44) St. Cyril of Alexandria summarizes why Jesus called them hypocrites for not recognizing the time, “The law showed beforehand the mystery of Christ, that he would shine out in the last ages of the world on the inhabitants of the earth and submit to be a sacrifice for the salvation of all.” (Commentary On Luke – Homily 95) Jesus was revealed in the Old Testament but the people failed to understand it and recognize him.
Jesus then invites the crowd to judge what is right in the looming crisis that they don’t even realize exists: the crisis regarding the state of their souls and their needs for repentance. As Jesus travels to Jerusalem he uses the image of a courtroom in which will be tried a debtor. On the way to court, the debtor settles his debts instead of facing the possibility of being thrown in prison by the judge where he would remain until every penny is paid. God is the judge and the debt is sin. Jesus has come to proclaim a jubilee year of remission but that require repentance. People need to repent of their sins: settle the debt. Otherwise, they will be tossed into prison, hell, because of their debts.
Daily Application
Jesus was frustrated during his ministry by the fact that so many were unable to understand and see who he was. He uses the metaphor of signs to drive home this point. We are all capable of seeing the signs around us and drawing actionable conclusions. For example, storms in my area always roll in from the west. If I look to the sky and see storms clouds in the west, I can understand that I am likely to see storms soon as those clouds move into my area so I change my plans.
In the case of Jesus, the Old Testament was full of prophesies about the coming Messiah: what he would do and say. Jesus, as the Messiah, fulfilled these prophesies. The people were seeing this unfold right before their very eyes. Yet, they failed to connect the dots. They failed to understand his identity and then respond correctly: respond with a heart full of repentance ready to make themselves right with God. Jesus warns them that they need to figure this out and then repent: repent before they stand in front of the judge, in front of Christ at the end of time.
The signs of who Jesus is are still all around us. Each and every day, the hand of God works in our lives. We need to take the time to reflect and see where he is and how he is moving. However, that reflection will inevitably demand a response, and that response will make demands upon us so instead we choose to ignore the signs. That is why both the people in Jesus’s time as well as the people of today failed to read the signs. They knew and we know that if we read the signs and acknowledge who Jesus is then we have to acknowledge who we are: sinners who need to repent and seek the mercy of God.
An important part of repentance is a sincere desire to amend our ways. A sincere desire, not perfection, but a sincere desire to go forth and sin no more. Jesus knows we will likely stumble again so the bar for mercy is not perfection but rather the desire to improve. In other words, we have to change. Recognizing and accepting our need for conversion can be difficult and downright terrifying. Instead of confronting that, we bury our heads in the sand and ignore the signs all around us. The problem is we don’t know when the debt we have incurred is going to be called. Our life may be demanded of us at any moment. Have we paid our debtors? Have we repented of our sins? Are we right with God?
This is a challenging Gospel because it lays it all out for us. We need to recognize that all signs point to Jesus. Then, we need to repent and to settle our debt with God. Jesus has made that possible. Jesus also told us the time to do it is now, do not delay.
Comments