Signs From on High

We all seek signs to guide us along the way. Imagine taking a journey to some new place, and finding no signs to tell you where you are or what direction you destination is. That would be a nightmare!

In our spiritual life, we are always looking for guidance in the form of some sign. Are we to go ahead? Is God hearing us? Is it time for a change? What is this experience telling us about life, or direction, or purpose?

And yet Jesus criticizes those seeking signs and wonders. I wonder why.

I remember well a friend whose husband was dying of cancer. She desperately wanted a miracle so he would live. She prayed to St. Therese, and found her "sign" on a dinner plate containing pictures of roses. She was so happy! And then her husband died.  Obviously, she read the sign wrong, or it wasn't really a sign after all, and she was grasping at straws.

I believe seeking signs isn't what Jesus gets upset about. I think it is when we become like petulant children demanding signs or wonders. Because by demanding to always "know" we lose faith in the mystery of it all.  And it is living in mystery that our faith is strengthened, our spiritual life deepened, our vision sharpened.

Just imagine what your journey would be like if the highway were filled with directional signs every mile of your jounrey. You would miss the beauty of the journey.