Mt 12:38-42
Then some teachers of the law and some Pharisees spoke up, “Teacher, we want to see a sign from you.” Jesus answered them, “An evil and unfaithful people want a sign; but no sign will be given, them except the sign of the prophet Jonah. In the same way, as Jonah spent three days and three nights in the belly of the whale, so will the Son of Man spend three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.
“At the judgment, the people of Nineveh will rise with this generation, and condemn it; because they reformed their lives at the preaching of Jonah, and here, there is greater than Jonah. At the judgment, the Queen of the South will stand up and condemn you. She came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and here, there is greater than Solomon. “
REFLECTION
We, the people of the 21st century, are dazzled by the extraordinary achievements of technology. Practically every day we witness that some new advanced gadget has invaded the market: from ipads to microwave ovens and from the self-driving car to the unmanned drone (or robot plane). But are we any wiser for all that? Is there more peace among the peoples of the earth? Is there more happiness in our hearts? Are we becoming better humans? The answer to these questions is obvious: we grow technological savvy but we are dolefully lacking in wisdom.
In fact, the word “wisdom” has become almost quaint and archaic. Yet, as today’s gospel reading tells us, the Queen of the South “came from the ends of the earth to listen to the wisdom of Solomon.” Would we be willing to exert such an effort? Yet, if our civilization to survive, we must build the future on Christ’s wisdom. In this we have been solemnly warned by the Second Vatican Council: “Our era needs… wisdom more than bygone ages if the discoveries made by man are to be further humanized. For the future of the world stands in peril unless wiser men and women are forthcoming” (GS, n.15).
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