Wednesday of the Second Week of Lent

Today's Mass Readings

If there is one thing that seems to drive commercial advertising these days, it seems to be the accepted first principle that every new product must be tagged as “new and improved.”

The “new and improved” syndrome may have been at play when the crowds pressured Jesus for more and more miraculous signs. They wanted signs which would continue to dazzle and entertain but Jesus downplayed providing that kind of sign because it could distract people’s attention from the central mission.

He declared to this crowd that the only sign to be given would be the sign of Jonah. The sign of Jonah was challenging because they had to turn inward. They were invited to ponder how God had worked in their lives even in small and hidden ways and how they were brought back to deeper fidelity.

But the most dazzling fact was that, although they were in search of the “new and improved,” they were actually looking at the sign of Jonah without realizing it. Jesus is the sign of Jonah. Jesus was and is the hidden splendor of the Father’s ongoing intention to draw all people into that final union with God. The real excitement comes in realizing that this is a day-by-day process. We catch glimpses of the sign of Jonah every day, but sometimes just at the wrong moment, we blink. But if we don’t blink, every day can be “new and improved.”

Reflection by Fr. Daniel Petsche, OSB