From the Deacon's Desk

Each day, I reflect upon a word or a phrase inspired by the readings of the day. I encourage you to do the same and perhaps incorporate that word or phrase into your daily prayer.

The crowd said to Jesus: “What sign can you do, that we may see and believe in you? What can you do?” (John 6:30-35)

WHAT SIGN CAN YOU DO?: Our initial reaction to this crowd might be, “Who do you think you are? Don’t you know who you’re talking to?”

But in reality, we need to cut these people some slack, because it is likely they did not know who they were talking to! At that point Jesus was just another prophet, another guy who could talk a good game.

They were waiting for the Messiah. They had been promised a Savior. Jesus had powerful words to share and He seemed different from the others. Impatience took over – are you the One or not? Show us! Prove it!

It is understandable that Jesus needed to prove Himself to His contemporaries.

More concerning to me is how even today we seemed to be asking Jesus to prove Himself to us. Jesus has spent the last 2,000 years proving Himself to us – what more do we need?

Every time we lack faith, we are saying to Jesus, “Prove it!”

Every time we knowingly act against Jesus’ teachings, we are saying, “Prove it!”

Every time we are struggling and acting as though we are alone in our struggles, we are saying, “Prove it!”

Following Thomas’ demonstration of doubt, Jesus told him, “Happy are those who have not seen and have believed.” That is the essence of our faith. Jesus has nothing to prove to us.