“Then some of the scribes and Pharisees answered him, saying: ‘Master we would see a sign from thee.’ Who answering said to them: ‘An evil and adulterous generation seeketh a sign: and a sign shall not be given it, but the sign of Jonas the prophet. For as Jonas was in the whale’s belly three days and three nights: so shall the Son of man be in the heart of the earth three days and three nights. The men of Ninive shall rise in judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: because they did penance at the preaching of Jonas. And behold a greater than Jonas here. The queen of the south shall rise in judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and behold a greater than Solmon here.’”
The scribes and Pharisees, having been presented with many signs, wonders, acts of love, and great wisdom, continue to press Jesus, asking for a sign. God’s wonder is proved in one way by miracles, but even these can be wrought by men in touch with demons: “And Pharao called the wise men and the magicians: and they also by Egyptian enchantments and certain secrets did in like manner” (Exodus 7:11). The gift of God is not miraculous cures, but an endless merciful love: “If thou didst know the gift of God” (John 4:10). Now, human needs are basic: “The chief thing for man’s life is water and bread, and clothing, and a house to cover shame” (Ecclesiasticus 29:21), but more fundamental than all of these is to love and be loved, and Aristotle begins his Metaphysics by saying that all men desire to know. Jesus has expressly provided love, wisdom, and necessities, but the scribes and Pharisees reply by saying He works with demons, being ungrateful for the acts of love that were given them, which is the opposite of love: “Be not overcome by evil, but overcome evil by good” (Romans 12:21), or what St. John Chrysostom calls “the extreme of wickedness.” By leaving the simple desire to love and be loved: “Love one another, as I have loved you” (John 13:34); “’Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with thy whole heart, and with thy whole soul, and with thy whole mind… Thou shalt love they neighbour as thyself” (Matthew 22:37-39), the scribes and Pharisees cloud their hearts with what the Lord calls “other lovers:” “But thou hast prostituted thyself to many lovers” (Jeremias 3:1). It is of note to consider that Jesus does wondrous things for those with whom He is familiar: “We know that to them that love God, all things work together unto good, to such as, according to his purpose, are called to be saints” (Romans 8:28), but rarely does He unveil the depths of His merciful love, which is His divinity, to those who do not know Him in His humanity, for this would blind the eyes of their souls: “And Saul arose from the ground; and when his eyes were opened, he saw nothing” (Acts 9:8). Thus, the sign desired by the scribes and Pharisees was freely given to Saints Peter, James, and John: “And after six days Jesus taketh unto him Peter and James, and John his brother, and bringeth them up into a high mountain apart: and he was transfigured before them” (Matthew 17:1-2), who were His dear friends. Thus, Theophila, it is best to seek to love Jesus, to grow in intimacy and familiarity with Him, which makes love flourish: “My breasts are as a tower since I am become in his presence as one finding peace” (Canticle 8:10), rather than to implore Him for miracles or favors, knowing that He gives graciously to those who call Him their Beloved: “My head is full of dew, and my locks of the drops of the nights” (Canticle 5:2). As for the sign of the prophet Jonah, there are two indications, the first is the resurrection, which they did not believe: “That seducer said, while he was yet alive: ‘After three days I will rise again’” (Matthew 27:63), but in addition is the conversion of the Gentiles, that pagan nations should come in droves to believe in the God of Israel and change their whole lives for the sake of His love: “And the men of Ninive believed in God” (Jonas 3:5); “Having heard these things, they held their peace, and glorified God, saying: ‘God then hath also to the Gentiles given repentance unto life” (Acts 11:18). This is a miraculous sign of God’s work, something tangible for those that did not believe in the resurrection. Ah, how many are the ways by which God tries to win the hearts of His people! “God, who at sundry times and in divers manners, spoke in times past to the fathers by the prophets” (Hebrews 1:1). Now, because those of Nineveh heard the call to live in a morally upright manner, which is the pathway to loving well: “Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make straight his paths” (Matthew 3:3) and did so in obedience to a prophet, those that hear the words of God and refuse them are sentenced by comparison. When Jonah preached for three days, all of Nineveh converted: “And God saw their works, that they were turned from their evil way: and God had mercy with regard to the evil which he had said that he would do to them, and he did it not” (Jonas 3:10), whereas God came to earth, showing what He is like and what He approves of, which is a sublime mystery, and taught for years, yet was spurned and ignored: “He came unto his own, and his own received him not” (John 1:11). How magnificent is the wisdom to be gained from following Christ! For true seekers of wisdom would be ravenous to feast upon the very words of God: “All wisdom is from the Lord God, and hath been always with him, and is before all time” (Ecclesiasticus 1:1); “The root of wisdom is to fear the Lord: and the branches thereof are long-lived” (Ecclesiasticus 1:25), which is demonstrated by the example of the “queen of the south:” “And the queen of Saba, having heard of the fame of Solomon in the name of the Lord, came to try him with hard questions… And Solomon informed her of all the things she proposed to him… And she said to the king: The report is true, which I hared in my own country, concerning thy words, and concerning thy wisdom…Blessed are thy men, and blessed are thy servants, who stand before thee always, and hear thy wisdom” (3 Kings 10:1-8). It is a harsh condemnation that the religious leaders would continue in their evil ways rather than to the wisdom of love and love of wisdom that emanated from Jesus, whereas prostitutes absorbed His words like sponges: “And she had a sister called Mary, who sitting at the Lord’s feet, heard his word” (Luke 10:39). Jonah went to the Ninevites, just as Jesus became man to seek your heart, but the queen of Saba took the initiative and went to Solomon, so desirous was she of his wisdom: “Blessed are they that hunger and thirst after justice: for they shall have their fill” (Matthew 5:6); “Blessed are they that search his testimonies: that seek him with their whole heart” (Psalm 118:2). Look, then, Theophila, to the sublimity of what Jesus does for you: He comes down from heaven for the sake of your heart: “I am come into my garden, O my sister, my spouse” (Canticle 5:1), being an almighty God presenting Himself to you as a gentle man: “By the mildness and modesty of Christ, who in presence indeed am lowly among you” (1 Corinthians 10:1), that you may know God, love Him, and be loved by Him: “But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ” (2 Peter 3:18). Finally, all are called to the absolute heights of divine love: “I know such a man… that he was caught up into paradise, and heard secret words, which it is not granted to man to utter” (2 Corinthians 12:3-4), which is to know the love of Jesus intuitively, your heart reaching beyond the mind’s limitations and understanding the full depth of the words “I love you.” This, however, is a gift for those that give everything to God: “And every one that hath left house, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands for my name’s sake, shall receive an hundred fold,” which is the amount of love that they will receive from God in exchange of the love they have left behind, “and shall possess life everlasting” (Matthew 19:29). Therefore, Theophila, be as the queen of Saba or the bride in the Song of Songs: “I will rise, and will go about the city: in the streets and the broad ways I will seek him whom my soul loveth” (Canticle 3:2), for when you leave behind all created delights and let the Lord love you and mold you into the most loving version of yourself, you will find the depths of God’s merciful love: “When I had a little passed by them, I found him whom my soul loveth: I held him: and I will not let him go” (Canticle 3:4).