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The disciples had forgotten to
bring bread, and they had only one loaf with them in the boat. He enjoined them, “Watch out, guard
against
the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod.” They concluded among themselves that it was
because they had no bread. When he
became aware of this he said to them, “Why do you conclude that
it is because
you have no bread? Do you not yet
understand or comprehend? Are your
hearts hardened? Do you have eyes and
not see, ears and not hear? And do you
not remember, when I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how
many
wicker baskets full of fragments you picked up?” They
answered him “Twelve.” “When
I broke the seven loaves for the four thousand,
how many full baskets of fragments did you pick up?” They
answered him “Seven.” He said to
them, “Do you still not
understand?”
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The
movie "Signs" is so named because of a double connotation. In
order to understand what was happening to
the world, the people had to see the signs. More
personally, Graham Hess, ex-Episcopalian priest and self-declared
atheist, had to see the signs. As his
dying wife told him, he had to "see." He
had to see that there is evil in the world, but that things work out. He had to see that what happens to us is
often not what we want, but is for the better. He
had to see that God’s presence in the world does not come in the
form
of some global celestial announcement. God’s
presence comes in the activity of human beings. Specifically
in the movie, God is
seen in an ability that is learned (baseball talent), or a disease that
is
contracted (asthma) or even in the wonder of life-giving water (habit
of
leaving half-full water glasses).
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We are scientific
people. We are trained to think with
facts that can be proved. Even when we
have proof, we sometimes remain incredulous until we individually
experience it
and become personally convinced. The
presence of God is not a proved fact and therefore many human beings do
not
understand it.
Study Jesus’ Apostles in Mark's Gospel. They were given every indication that Jesus was an extraordinary person, maybe even God. But it may have been too much for their minds to comprehend. In answer to Jesus’ questions, they had seen the multiplication of the loaves and they had counted the baskets of leftovers. It should have been enough to convince them that indeed, he was someone special, but they did not seem to make the connection. Thus, we hear Jesus ask: "Do you still not understand?" Or, in terms of the movie, "Why can’t you see the signs?" Jesus’ Apostles had to "see" before they understood. Likewise Fr. Graham Hess in the movie "Signs." You and I are called to see and understand that God is truly acting in our lives no matter what happens. |
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THOUGHT
St.
Thomas Aquinas gave five "proofs" for the
existence of God [The need for a first
mover, the need for a first cause, the need for something to exist that
is
contingent on nothing else, the need for a perfect being and
pattern, and the
exquisite design of the universe]. In
your opinion, which one makes the most sense to you? Why?
PRAYER Good and gracious God, we
see signs all around
us of your presence in our world. Our
problem is that we simply don’t take the time to recognize you. Help us to see your action in our lives a little
more than we do now. Be with us, we
pray.
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©2007
Capuchin Province of Mid-America
Fr. Mike Scully is a member of the Capuchin Province of Mid-America |