Friends,
the famous call of the Vatican II fathers to "read the signs of the
times" is grounded in Jesus’ exhortation in the Gospel for today.
Followers of Jesus are meant to look at the world with clear eyes, to
see what is happening, to be attentive. But this attention is of a
particular type. It is not the attention of the scientist or the
philosopher or the politician—though it can include those. It
is an attention to the things of God.
I
have often argued that many of us today are still enthralled to a Deist
view of God, whereby God is a distant and aloof first cause of the
universe, uninvolved with the world he has made. But Thomas Aquinas
taught that God is in all things "by essence, presence, and power," and
that God providentially cares for every aspect of his creation.
Therefore, we should expect to see signs of his presence and activity in
nature, in history, and in human affairs.
And
once we see, we are meant to speak! In a way, followers of Jesus are
not looking at the signs of the
times for their own benefit, but rather that they might share their
prophetic perspective with everyone else. So look around, look with
attention, look with the eyes of faith!
Friday of the Twenty-ninth Week in Ordinary Time
Lectionary: 477
Brothers and sisters:
I know that good does not dwell in me, that is, in my flesh.
The willing is ready at hand, but doing the good is not.
For I do not do the good I want,
but I do the evil I do not want.
Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it,
but sin that dwells in me.
So, then, I discover the principle
that when I want to do right, evil is at hand.
For I take delight in the law of God, in my inner self,
but I see in my members another principle
at war with the law of my mind,
taking me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members.
Miserable one that I am!
Who will deliver me from this mortal body?
Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Jesus said to the crowds,
“When you see a cloud rising in the west
you say immediately that it is going to rain–and so it does;
and when you notice that the wind is blowing from the south
you say that it is going to be hot–and so it is.
You hypocrites!
You know how to interpret the appearance of the earth and the sky;
why do you not know how to interpret the present time?
“Why do you not judge for yourselves what is right?
If you are to go with your opponent before a magistrate,
make an effort to settle the matter on the way;
otherwise your opponent will turn you over to the judge,
and the judge hand you over to the constable,
and the constable throw you into prison.
I say to you, you will not be released
until you have paid the last penny.”
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