Reading
Luke 11:29-32
29 As the crowds increased, Jesus said, “This is a wicked generation. It asks for a sign, but none will be given it except the sign of Jonah. 30 For as Jonah was a sign to the Ninevites, so also will the Son of Man be to this generation. 31 The Queen of the South will rise at the judgment with the people of this generation and condemn them, for she came from the ends of the earth to listen to Solomon’s wisdom; and now something greater than Solomon is here. 32 The men of Nineveh will stand up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and now something greater than Jonah is here.
Comment
The crowd asks continually to see "signs" from Jesus: wonders, healings, exorcisms. But his response sweeps away any false expectation, calling the people who follow him to the profound sense of what they hear. In reality, they are not "signs" that they must wait for because the true "sign" is himself: his person, his word, and his testimony. This "sign" must be accepted through a commitment to conversion, the only one capable of making the greatness of Jesus and of his teaching be recognized, and which rises well above that of Solomon.
The "sign of Jonah" is interpreted by Jesus in relation to his death and resurrection. As Jonah was cast from the boat to save the life of the crew threatened by the storm so Jesus was cast out of this world in his passion to save us from the storm of sin; and as Jonah emerged from the belly of the fish after three days and three nights, so Jesus rises on the third day, freeing us from the power of death.
The inhabitants of Nineveh responded to the preaching of Jonah, who threatened the destruction of the city by God, sprinkling himself with ashes and doing forty days of penance. We too are called to repentance, by the person of Jesus, who is much greater than Jonah. But as the latter preached God's impending chastisement, Jesus announces the good news of salvation, which prompts us to conform to God's will not out of fear, but in response to his gratuitous act of love.
The rising of the queen of the south (v. 31), together with the inhabitants of Nineveh, on the day of judgment, indicates their resurrection, but also their accusation against the unbelieving generation. The wisdom with which God clothed Solomon becomes a shining manifestation of God's mercy in the face of Jesus, despised, scourged, crucified for having taken on our sins: "Here is the man!" (Jn 19:5); here is God who comes to visit us as disarmed love and as such asks us to welcome him.
Prayer
O Lord Jesus Christ, who made yourself sin in our favor, so that we might become righteous before God, grant us to conform ourselves more and more to you, a living sign of the Father's love. Amen.
- Rev. Dr. Luca Vona
