Experiencing God - Jonah's Sign 135

"As the crowds were increasing, Jesus began to say, This generation is a wicked generation; it seeks for a sign, and yet no sign will be given to it but the sign of Jonah."
Gospel of Luke

How can we interpret in a proper manner some of the  harsher comments we find in the Gospels?  Jesus is saying to the crowds that His generation is a wicket generation because it asks for a sign.  And the only sign that will be given will be the sign of Jonah.  What is this sign of Jonah?

The sign of Jonah is the sign of repentance, which means to change.  Jonah's call to repentance or change was directed towards the great city of Nineveh.  What was Nineveh doing that required it to change its direction? 

Probably not too much different that what the cities in our generation are doing today.  Going about their day to day business of commerce, trading, work, trying to build some sort of life for the people living there.  But Nineveh, in its busyness, was asleep.  Its people walked around in a state of unconsciousness when it came to God.  They went on with their lives as if God did not exist.  Does this sound familiar? 

Jonah jarred the city into awareness.  Jonah told the people of Nineveh that if they did not repent or change, they would be destroyed.  He got their attention.
 
Nineveh woke up.  They began to pray and fast. They ceased a lot of their consuming activity and waited on the Lord.  I wonder if this would work today in our great cities and in the lives of the people who live there?  How is it that we are called to repent, to change the direction we are going?

"While Jesus was saying these things, one of the women in the crowd raised her voice and said to Him, "Blessed is the womb that bore You and the breasts at which You nursed.  But He said, "On the contrary, blessed are those who hear the word of God and observe it."
Gospel of Luke

"Blessed are those who hear the word of God and observe it."  Perhaps this is a good place to start.  But we can't hear the word of God if we are overly consumed with and attached too the business affairs of our day-to-day living.  Life in our secular world has to do with things like problem solving, fixing things, explaining or taking sides on issues, making money, and the bottom line. It can be pretty circular and nonsensical. To break from this obsession and to begin to see with eyes wide open, we need to bring God into the picture, and He's not that far away.  We need to fast from our obsessive busyness, so that we can hear the word of God as it is spoken to our hearts and minds, and then move to obedience to the word that we hear. 

There is no special season to begin our response to God's call to change.  It is a call to awaken from our sleep and bring God into our conscious awareness.  It is a time to fast from consuming activity, to pray for guidance, to respond to Grace.